Podcast 184: Ruling out pulmonary embolism in primary care

Pulmonary embolism is a vexing problem in primary care: Does this patient have it? Can I send them home with reassurance? Should I refer them for further testing? A Dutch group has evaluated the tests most likely to be available in the primary care setting — the various flavors of the Wells rules and the Geneva scores — against a panel of some 600 patients with suspected PE and known outcomes after referral and three months’ follow-up. They come down in favor of the Wells rule and simple D-dimer testing, but an editorialist in the BMJ offers a note of dissent. Our interview with one of the study authors, Dr. Geert-Jan Geersing, sorts this all out. [Running time: 13 minutes] BMJ study (free) BMJ editorial (subscription required) The post Podcast 184: Ruling out pulmonary embolism in primary care first appeared on Clinical Conversations.