Regional Ventilation in the Differential Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism

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Abstract
In the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism by lung scanning, clinical errors of interpretation may arise. Diseases that affect the distribution of pulmonary blood flow, such as pulmonary emphysema and bronchial asthma, may be confused with pulmonary embolism. With the addition of ventilation studies with 133xenon to the perfusion scans, distinct differences appear between patients with emboli and those with obstructive lung disease. In patients with pulmonary emboli, ventilation is preserved in the areas of decreased perfusion, whereas patients with obstructive lung disease show both decreased ventilation and perfusion in the affected areas.