1. Echocardiogram in the Evaluation and Management of Pulmonary Embolism
Nandan Prasad
PGY-1
December 14, 2015

2. Questions What are echo findings in the presence of PE?
Can echo be used to diagnose PE?
Can echo be used to predict prognosis in the setting of PE?
Can echo be used to guide management in the setting of PE?

3. Echo Findings
In hemodynamically significant PE, underfilled and hyperdynamic left ventricle
Right ventricular dilation with > 1:1 RV/LV ratio
Right ventricular reduced function or contractility
McConnell’s sign – RV hypokinesis with spared apical function and contraction
Tricuspid regurgitation
Pulmonary hypertension (peak tricuspid regurgitation jet velocity >2.6 m/s)
Interventricular septum flattening and paradoxical motion toward the LV (D-shaped septum)
IVC dilation without inspiratory collapse
Occasionally may see free floating thrombus in right heart or pulmonary artery

4. RV Dilation

5. McConnell’s Sign
RV hypokinesis with spared apical function and contraction
McConnell et al
Retrospective study of 126 patients with PE underwent echo with analysis for patterns of RV wall motion abnormalities
77% sensitivity, 94% specificity for pulmonary embolism

7. Interventricular Septum flattening (D-shape)

8. Right Heart Thrombus

9. Can Echo Be Used to Diagnose PE?

10. Echo For PE Diagnosis Bova et al (Am J Emerg Med 2003)
162 patients with suspected PE in the Emergency Department
68 had PE
RV dilation (65 patients) – specificity 94%, sensitivity 31%
Max. tricuspid regurgitation velocity above 2.7 m/s (55 patients) – 88% specificity, 51% sensitivity
Both findings present (55 patients) – 96% specificity, 29% sensitivity

11. Echo For PE Diagnosis Mansencal et al (Echocardiography 2008)
76 patients with high clinical probability and positive D-Dimer in the Emergency Department
All underwent CTA, echo and lower extremity ultrasound
32 had actual PE based on CTA
17 had RV dilation
18 had DVT
8 had both
Combined ultrasound (DVT + Echo) had sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 69%

12. Can echo be used for prognosis in the setting of PE?

13. Echo for PE prognosis Riberio et al (Am Heart J 1997)
126 patients with PE underwent echo on the day of diagnosis
Moderate to severely reduced RV function – 1-year mortality 15.1% vs 7.9% in those with normal or slightly reduced RV function (p = 0.04)
Goldhaber et al (Lancet 1999)
1135 patients with PE underwent echo
454 had RV hypokinesis
RV hypokinesis  higher mortality at 2 weeks and at 3 months
Hazard ratio was 2.0 (95% CI 1.3 – 2.9)
findings strongly support the use of echocardiography to help risk stratify patients with PE

14. Echo for PE prognosis ten Wold et al (Arch Intern Med 2004)
Literature review of 5 studies including 1773 patients
Showed at least a 2-fold higher risk of dying in the short term when RV dysfunction was present
Absolute difference in risk ranged from 4% to 18%

15. Echo for PE prognosis Konstantinides et al (Circulation 1997)
Retrospective study of 719 patients with PE
Patients with hypotension on presentation and shock were excluded
552 underwent echo; 380 had evidence of RV dilation
30-day mortality was 10% in these patients as opposed to 4.1% in those without a dilated RV (P=.018).

16. Echo for PE prognosis Grifoni et al (Circulation 2000)
209 patients with PE underwent echo in the Emergency Department
Patients placed into groups based on hemodynamic stability and echo findings of RV strain
Normotensive patients without RV strain did better than normotensive patients with RV strain
The only hemodynamically stable patients that had adverse events due to PE also had evidence of RV strain on initial echo
Death rate in normotensive patients with RV strain was 5% (95% CI 0 to 13%), rate in normotensive patients with no RV strain was 0% (95% CI 0 to 4%)

17. Echo for PE prognosis Sanchez et al (Eur Heart J 2008)
Literature review of 12 studies that investigated findings of RV dysfunction and outcomes using either echo or CT in patients with hemodynamically stable PE
5 studies used echo to evaluate RV function in by various departments (ICU, ED, Cardiology)
221 patients with RV dysfunction had 21 adverse events vs 264 patients with normal RV function had 8 adverse events  RR 2.5 (95% CI )

18. Echo for PE Prognosis Fremont et al (Chest 2008)
Study aimed to established an RV/LV end-diastolic diameter ratio as a prognostic factor
Retrospective study of 950 patients hospitalized with PE who underwent echo and had a RV/LV ratio determined with outcome of hospital mortality
Hospital mortality when RV/LV ratio ≥ 0.9 was 6.6% vs 1.9% when ≤ .9
Odds ratio 2.7 (95% CI 1.7 to 6.0)
Conclusion: RV/LV ratio ≥ 0.9 was an independent predictive factor for hospital mortality

19. Echo for PE Prognosis Kjaergaard et al (Euro J Echocardiography 2009)
Propestictive study of 283 patients with PE underwent echo and follow up 1 year later with measurements of RV size, function and pressure
Shortening of the pulmonary artery (PA) acceleration time (a measure of RV after-load) was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio .084 per 10 ms increase, P < )
RV/LV diameter ratio was not found to be significantly correlated with all-cause mortality

20. Can Echo guide therapy in the setting of PE?

21. Echo for PE therapy Goldhaber et al (Lancet 1993) Randomized trial
101 patients with PE enrolled and followed for 14 days
46 got tPa followed by heparin, 55 got heparin
5 patients in heparin group had recurrent PEs, 2 of which were fatal
All 5 had echo findings with RV hypokinesis
Based on this study the authors recommended considering tPA in hemodynamically stable patients with signs of RV dysfunction

22. Echo for PE therapy Konstantinides et al (Circulation 1997)
Retrospective study of 719 patients with PE who underwent heparinization and/or thrombolytics measuring 30 day mortality
Patients with hypotension on presentation and shock were excluded
552 underwent echo; 441 had RV overload
right ventricular enlargement on echo associated with mortality rate of 4.7% in the thrombolysis group compared with 11.1% in the heparin group (P=.16).
Overall the thrombolytic group had decreased 30-day mortality that was statistically significant: OR .46 (95% CI .21 – 1.00)

23. Echo for PE therapy Hamel et al (Chest 2001)
Retrospective study of 153 hemodynamically stable patients with massive PE treated with heparin or thrombolytics
All patients had confirmed PE and echocardiogram with right ventricular dilation defined as RV/LV diameter ratio > .6
Found decreased deaths among those receiving heparin than those who received thrombolysis

24. Echo for PE Therapy Stein et al (Amer J of Med 2008)
Retrospective study of 76 patients from the PIOPED II trial with PE and RV enlargement treated with anticoagulants and/or IVC filters
No difference in all-cause mortality compared to patients who did not have right ventricular enlargement

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27. Conclusions
Echocardiography cannot be used to rule out pulmonary embolism, but can support the diagnosis when clinical suspicion is high
There is strong evidence to suggest that echocardiography can help risk-stratify patients with PE in the setting of hemodynamic stability, either through RV/LV end-diastolic diameter ratio or pulmonary artery acceleration time
There is no established evidence for use of echocardiogram to guide the decision to administer thrombolytics for submassive PE

28. References
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