Diagnosis of proximal pulmonary embolism by transthoracic echocardiography
Philippe Garçon1, Iris Cohen, Charbel Nakad
1Division of Cardiology, Saint Joseph's Hospital of Paris, Paris, France. pgarcon@hpsj.fr
Abstract:
To date, few cases giving detailed visual descriptions of a thrombus in the pulmonary arteries or its branches in transthoracic echocardiography have been reported. We report the case of a 67-year-old man who was admitted to a hospital emergency department with a thrombus in the right pulmonary artery diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography. The specificity of echocardiography in pulmonary embolism varies between 80% and 90% according to the series. The direct visualization of a thrombus is sometimes possible, permitting a faster diagnosis in patients with compromised hemodynamic status.
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