[Clinical assessment systems in the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism]

We proposed developing two symptom-based systems for assessing the presence of pulmonary thromboembolism (TEP) in our practice, using a standardized questionnaire and multivariate models. Data were collected from September 1993 through November 1994 (case reports, physical examination findings and complementary test results) of patients admitted to our ward with a suspicion of TEP. The calculated odds ratio for each of the variables recorded were used as weights to determine their relevance or not for the group at risk for TEP. The yield of the two systems developed (a weights system and a logistical model) were studied by plotting ROC curves. Eighty-two patients (40 women and 42 men, mean age 60.94 +/- 14.39 years) were admitted. The questionnaire had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 75%, a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 60%. The logistical regression model had a sensitivity of 96.3% for a diagnosis of TEP with inclusion of the following variables: female sex, disease-related immobility, presence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the lower extremities and the appearance of unexplained dyspnea. Neither system was clearly superior to the other for arriving at a clinical diagnosis of TEP.