Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Hospitalization is less common in ambulatory patients with acute pulmonary embolism diagnosed before emergency department referral than after arrival.
Emergency department (ED) patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) may undergo diagnostic pulmonary imaging as an outpatient before referral to the ED for definitive management. This population has not been well characterized. ⋯ In the study setting, ambulatory outpatients with acute PE are commonly diagnosed before ED arrival. A clinic-based diagnosis of PE identifies ED patients less likely to be hospitalized. Research is needed to identify which patients with a clinic-based PE diagnosis may not require transfer to the ED before home discharge.