Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Sep 2008
Case ReportsDiagnosis of proximal pulmonary embolism by transthoracic echocardiography.
To date, few cases giving detailed visual descriptions of a thrombus in the pulmonary arteries or its branches in transthoracic echocardiography have been reported. We report the case of a 67-year-old man who was admitted to a hospital emergency department with a thrombus in the right pulmonary artery diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography. The specificity of echocardiography in pulmonary embolism varies between 80% and 90% according to the series. The direct visualization of a thrombus is sometimes possible, permitting a faster diagnosis in patients with compromised hemodynamic status.