LAUSR

In memory of the founder of Acta Radiologica, Professor Gösta Forsell, the Xenia Forsselliana Prize has been awarded for the best manuscript from one of the five Nordic countries published in the print version in Acta Radiologica that specific year. After a formal voting procedure, the section editors of Acta Radiologica have decided that the Xenia Forsselliana Prize for 2021 should be awarded to Mazdak Tavoly from the Department of Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden (Fig. 1) for the article “The mean bilateral proximal extension of the clot is associated with pulmonary embolism severity parameters and management-associated outcomes” (1). Mazdak Tavoly was born in 1982 and got his MD in 2007 at Lund University, Sweden. In 2020, he defended his PhD “Persistent dyspnea, exercise limitation and quality of life in patients surviving pulmonary embolism” at the University of Oslo. Since 2022, Dr Tavoly has been employed as a postdoctoral researcher in pulmonary embolism at Østfold Hospital Trust. Dr Tavoly has published four articles as a main author and five articles as a co-author. The aim of the prizewinning paper was to explore the possible associations between the mean bilateral extension of the clot (MBPEC) and pulmonary embolism severity parameters, shortand long-term outcomes of pulmonary embolism, and inter-observer agreement. Patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism during 2003–2011 were identified. The mean age of the 245 included patients was 55± 16 years; 42% were women. Patients with higher MBPEC scores had a significantly higher pulse rate and lower oxygen saturation. An MBPEC score <4 predicted a negative troponin value with a negative predictive value of 90%. Patients with an MBPEC score of 4 were 5.3 times more likely to have elevated levels of troponin. An MBPEC score of 4 was independently associated with admission to the intensive care unit. The inter-observer agreement was excellent (kappa = 0.82). The mean bilateral proximal extension of the clot is associated with pulmonary embolism severity parameters and can predict short-term adverse outcomes. The Prize consists of SEK 40,000 and a diploma. The official presentation of the Prize will take place during the Nordic Congress of Radiology in Helsinki at the Acta Radiologica Award Session in May 2023. The manuscript will be presented orally during the Acta Radiologica Award Session. The Editorial Board congratulates Dr Mazdak Tavoly for winning the 2021 Xenia Forsselliana Prize.