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Minggu, 13 Mei 2018

WESTERMARK SIGN. Chest radiograph and schematic drawing. | THORAX ...
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In chest radiography, the Westermark sign is a sign that represents a focus of oligemia (hypovolemia) (leading to collapse of vessel) seen distal to a pulmonary embolism (PE). While the chest x-ray is normal in the majority of PE cases, the Westermark sign is seen in 2% of patients.

Essentially, this is a plain X-ray version of a filling defect as seen on computed tomography pulmonary arteriogram.

The sign results from a combination of:

  1. the dilation of the pulmonary arteries proximal to the embolus and
  2. the collapse of the distal vasculature creating the appearance of a sharp cut off on chest radiography.

Video Westermark sign



Sensitivity and specificity

The Westermark sign, like Hampton's hump (a wedge shaped, pleural based consolidation associated with pulmonary infarction), has a low sensitivity (11%) and high specificity (92%) for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Put more simply, the Westermark sign is seldom seen in PE, but when visible on a chest X-ray, it is strongly indicative of PE.


Maps Westermark sign



Name

It is named after Nils Westermark, a Swedish radiologist.


Pulmonary embolism - diagnosis and treatment - ppt download
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References


Source of article : Wikipedia