Radionuclide lung scans for suspected acute pulmonary embolism: Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or hybrid SPECT/CT?

Abstract

Hybrid single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with CT (SPECT/CT) may improve diagnostic accuracy in suspected acute pulmonary embolism, but further research is needed. We evaluated whether the use of attenuation correction and/or the depiction of lung pathology with hybrid SPECT/CT could significantly reduce potentially false‐positive ventilation–perfusion (VQ) SPECT studies or obviate the need for a ventilation study.