A 52-year-old man presents to the emergency department with chest pain. He has recently returned from Australia and has a history of a painful swollen right calf over the last couple of days. He is otherwise usually fit and well and has no known allergies. You suspect a diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism (PE).
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A computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) will confirm the diagnosis of a PE and is the gold standard diagnostic test for a PE.
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The D-dimer is usually raised in a PE but is non-specific. Another helpful investigation in a patient presenting with a possible is a chest X-ray to exclude other pathology.
If a patient has renal failure or contrast allergy, a ventilation/ perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (V/Q SPECT) can be used instead of a CTPA.
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The treatment of PE can include the following:
- Give supplemental oxygen as required
- Obtain intravenous access
- Give analgesia if necessary
- Offer a choice of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or fondaparinux
- Offer unfractionated heparin if the patient has severe renal impairment
- Offer a vitamin K antagonist (VKA)
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Thank you for the little snippets.
Comes handy.
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Thanks , very helpful