Circ Cardiovasc Qual
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Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Jan 2020
Multicenter StudyOver-Testing for Suspected Pulmonary Embolism in American Emergency Departments: The Continuing Epidemic.
No recent data have investigated rates of diagnostic testing for pulmonary embolism (PE) in US emergency departments (EDs), and no data have examined computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) rates in subgroups at high risk for adverse imaging outcomes, including young women and children. We hypothesized that over-testing for PE remains a problem. ⋯ Over-testing for PE in American EDs remains a major public health problem. Centers with higher D-dimer ordering had higher yield of PE on CTPA. These data suggest the potential for implementation of D-dimer based protocols to reduce low-yield CTPA ordering.