Can ventilation perfusion scans be performed in pregnant women

Can ventilation perfusion scans be performed in pregnant women?

In general, V/Q scans can be performed in pregnant women, especially since most of the radioactivity is confined to the lungs rather than to the abdomen or pelvis.

Furthermore, if there is no shunting of blood, no 99m Tc-MAA should reach the fetus.

However, it is important to establish the need for a V/Q scan in this setting so that the patient can be informed that the risks of PE outweigh the relatively minor risks of low levels of radiation exposure to the fetus from the V/Q scan.

The administered dose of 99m Tc-MAA is often decreased by half to further diminish the potential radiation exposure to the fetus.

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