• Ying Kan, Leilei Yuan, Jacqui K Meeks, Chunlin Li, Wencao Liu, and Jigang Yang.
• Department of Nuclear Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
• Acta Radiol. 2015 May 1; 56 (5): 565-72.

BackgroundVentilation perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (V/Q SPECT) and CT pulmonary angiography have all been used in the diagnosis of acute PE. Previous studies have shown higher sensitivity and specificity and a marked decrease in the non-diagnostic rate of V/Q SPECT than planar scan.PurposeTo systematically review and perform a meta-analysis of published data on the performance of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of acute PE.Material And MethodsA comprehensive computer search was conducted on literature published through 31 December 2013 in an effort to find relevant articles on the diagnostic performance of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of PE patients. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (LR), and positive LR, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of PE patients were calculated.ResultsNine studies, comprising a total sample size of 3454 patients, were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of acute PE patients, calculated on a per-patient-based analysis, was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 95-97%), 97% (95% CI, 96-98%). The pooled negative LR, positive LR of V/Q SPECT in acute PE patients was 0.06 (range, 0.02-0.19) and 16.64 (range, 9.78-31.54). The area under the ROC curve of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of acute PE patients was 0.99 on a per-patient-based analysis.ConclusionV/Q SPECT is an accurate method in acute PE patients with high sensitivity and high specificity in the diagnosis of PE.© The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

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