LAUSR

The advent of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) has allowed better visualization of peripheral vessels, thereby increasing rates of subsegmental pulmonary embolism (SSPE) but there are minimal changes in mortality. The true clinical significance of SSPE and Isolated SSPE (ISSPE) remain unclear. Patients with a small pulmonary embolism (PE) usually present chest pain or no symptoms, frequently classified as having low clinical probability of PE, whereas those with central embolism present dyspnea as the most common symptom. It is possible that ISSPE could represent a subset of a more benign disease and non-clinically relevant among patients with PE. Small PE presents a therapeutic dilemma whether anticoagulation should be used or not in all cases. As there are limited data to guide the appropriate management of ISSPE, this short review addresses the controversy over the therapeutic challenges in SSPE and ISSPE.