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Updated: May 14, 2026

A Porcine Model of Acute Autologous Pulmonary Embolism
Published on: September 6, 2024
Incidence of pulmonary embolism in an emergency department cohort evaluated with a simple symptom-based diagnostic
Joachim Gruettner1, Thomas Walter, Merle Bolte
1University Medical Centre Mannheim, Emergency Department, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1 3, D 68167 Mannheim, Germany. joachim.gruettner@umm.de
Background:
Although complex scores were recommended for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE), acceptance in clinical practice is limited. In our Emergency Department a symptom-based algorithm for patients with suspected PE including computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and D-dimer testing was implemented.
Patients And Methods:
The cases of 492 patients presenting with either chest pain, dyspnea or syncope for whom this algorithm was applied, were retrospectively analyzed with respect to the incidence of PE, D-dimer and high-sensitive troponin levels.
Results:
Our algorithm detected PE in 59 out of 492 patients. D-Dimer levels were significantly higher in the PE group than in the patients without PE (p<0.0001). High-sensitive troponin was significantly increased in patients with central PE compared to other patients (p<0.01).
Conclusion:
Our data demonstrate the utility and practicability of our symptom-based algorithm in combination with D-dimer testing and the use of CTPA in patients with suspected PE.
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