OBJECTIVE To determine the ability of conventional and Doppler echocardiography to distinguish between minor, acute massive, and subacute massive pulmonary embolism in patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism. DESIGN Prospective study of a consecutive series of 47 patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism. SETTING Department of internal medicine, university clinic. PATIENTS 11 patients...

Reports of pulmonary embolism in the setting of acute pancreatitis are rare. We present three cases of acute pancreatitis associated with pulmonary embolism and review the literature. Two of the three patients had severe acute pancreatitis with bilateral pulmonary emboli, and to our knowledge, these cases represent the first report of pulmonary embolism occurring in the setting of pancreatic as...

Pulmonary edema may be classified as increased hydrostatic pressure edema, permeability edema with diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), permeability edema without DAD, or mixed edema. Pulmonary edema has variable manifestations. Postobstructive pulmonary edema typically manifests radiologically as septal lines, peribronchial cuffing, and, in more severe cases, central alveolar edema. Pulmonary edema ...

INTRODUCTION We describe a case of pulmonary gas embolism caused by portal vein gas (PVG) observed using echocardiography. Echography revealed gas flowing through the hepatic vein, inferior vena cava, right atrium, and right ventricle, as well as pulmonary hypertension. The patient was diagnosed as having pulmonary gas embolism caused by PVG. OBJECTIVE We consider PVG routes to pulmonary circ...

BACKGROUND Although pulmonary infarction is usually associated with pulmonary thromboembolism, it can occur with other disorders such as vasculitis, angioinvasive infections, sickle-cell disease, tumor embolism, and pulmonary torsion. STUDY OBJECTIVE To identify causes and presenting features of pulmonary infarctions diagnosed by surgical biopsy in a consecutive series of patients encountered...

To The Editor: I read the article published in your journal with great interest.1 However, I would like to offer some comments and seek some clarifications on this study. First, whether the study was prospective or retrospective in nature and what was the study duration. Secondly, N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) assay was done before or after confirmation of thrombi by hel...

RATIONALE Clinical probability assessment is a fundamental step in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. OBJECTIVES To develop a predictive model for pulmonary embolism based on clinical symptoms, signs, and the interpretation of the electrocardiogram. METHODS The model was developed from a database of 1,100 patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, of whom 440 had the disease confirmed by...

To determine the sensitivities and specificities of ventilation/perfusion lung scans for acute pulmonary embolism, a random sample of 933 of 1493 patients was studied prospectively. Nine hundred thirty-one underwent scintigraphy and 755 underwent pulmonary angiography; 251 (33%) of 755 demonstrated pulmonary embolism. Almost all patients with pulmonary embolism had abnormal scans of high, inter...

Pulmonary embolism may be a life-threatening condition that needs immediate medical intervention. Early detection plays an important role in improving the survival rate. However, pulmonary embolism is a difficult diagnosis that may be missed because of non-specific clinical presentation. According to guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism, it should be diagnosed ...