Diagnostic compatibility of V/Q SPECT and CTPA, which are non-invasive diagnostic methods, for the detection of CTEPH, which is a treatable cause of pulmonary hypertension.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the compatibility between ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scintigraphy and computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in diagnosing chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

SUBJECT AND METHODS

Twenty cases of CTEPH, out of 98 patients with pre-diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH), who was diagnosed with CTEPH with a multidisciplinary approach and a council decision, were included in the study retrospectively. The diagnostic performances of V/Q SPECT and CTPA, which are used as noninvasive methods in diagnosing CTEPH, and the compatibility between them were calculated statistically.

RESULTS

Of 20 patients diagnosed with CTEPH, 12 were female, and 8 were male; the mean age was 59.1 (range: 36-79). The sensitivity of V/Q SPECT scintigraphy of imaging methods used to diagnose CTEPH was 90%, CTPA was 80%, specificities were 88% and 92%, respectively, and accuracy was 88% in both cases methods. According to the reference standard, the kappa value for V/Q scintigraphy was calculated as 0.765 and 0.678 for CTPA. These values were statistically significant (P<0.01), and there was a substantial concordance between them.

CONCLUSION

There is significant compatibility between V/Q SPECT scintigraphy and CTPA in diagnosing CTEPH, whose differential diagnosis is essential because of its high cure potential due to PH causes.