Qualitative indices and enhancement rate of CT pulmonary angiography in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism: Comparison between test bolus and bolus-tracking methods

The aim of the present study was to assess the qualitative indices and enhancement rate of computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism using Test bolus and Bolus-tracking techniques.

Fifty-two patients with suspected pulmonary embolism that passed informed consent were randomly divided in the two groups. In each group, demographic characteristics, qualitative indices, and enhancement rate of CTPA were recorded.

The diagnostic result obtained in majority of the participants in the two groups (88.5 % in Test bolus group vs. 73.1% in the Bolus tracking group). In the case of quantitative variables, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups (P > 0.05). The only statistically significant difference between the two groups is average of “X-ray dose”.

The results of our study show that there is no statistically significant difference between the Bolus Tracking and Test Bolus techniques for producing more homogeneous enhancement.