Newer diagnostic modalities for pulmonary embolism - Pulmonary angiography using CT and MR imaging compared with conventional angiography

CTPA is a highly sensitive and excellent primary method for evaluation of patients with symptoms of pulmonary embolism Ongoing studies will demonstrate the good clinical outcome of patients with negative CTPA results. The ability to visualize the lung parenchyma in addition to the pulmonary vasculature, and the smaller number of nondiagnostic scans, make CT more cost effective than V/Q scans, and CT therefore should be used as a first-line evaluation. MR imaging is a continually developing modality with more imaging options that could make it an invaluable or adjunctive test in the near future.