Lung Scintigraphy for Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis in COVID-19 Patients.

Lung Scintigraphy for Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis in COVID-19 Patients: a Multicenter Observational Study.

A frequent complication of COVID-19 disease is pulmonary embolism (PE).

Lung ventilation/perfusion (V/P) scintigraphy is a well-established test for PE diagnosis. The test is interpreted based on the recognition of wedge shaped perfusion mismatched defects. However, the ventilation procedure increases the potential risk of contamination by the aerosol secretion and the expired air.

A variety of strategies have been proposed in the nuclear medicine literature regarding performance of lung ventilation scintigraphy in COVID-19 patients with suspected acute PE. However, there is currently no factual data in this specific population to support recommendations to the nuclear medicine community.

The aim of this study was to assess the role of ventilation imaging when performing lung scintigraphy for suspected PE in COVID-19 patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with suspected COVID-19 disease
• Referred for lung scintigraphy for suspected acute PE

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient under guardianship or curatorship
• Patient deprived of liberty by an administrative or judicial decision
• Inability or refuse to give consent