DIFFUSE TUMOR MICROEMBOLISM - A RARE CAUSE OF A HIGH-PROBABILITY PERFUSION SCAN

Pulmonary turner embolism is a rare but well-documented cause of respi ratory failure in patients with-cancer. This entity is probably clinic ally underrecognized and may represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality. A typical pattern of multiple peripheral subsegmental defects on perfusion lung scanning has been described. We present a ca se of a unilateral near absence of perfusion in a 53-year-old woman wh o on autopsy was found to have diffuse tumor microembolism. As new che motherapeutic agents are developed for the treatment of malignancies, an early diagnosis may become more important. A high-probability perfu sion scan should not dissuade the clinician from pursuing further eval uation. Cytologic findings of pulmonary venous blood may be diagnostic .