"I can't find anything wrong: it must be a pulmonary embolism": Diagnosing suspected pulmonary embolism in primary care, a qualitative study.

Background: Before using any prediction rule oriented towards pulmonary embolism (PE), family physicians (FPs) should have some suspicion of this diagnosis. The diagnostic reasoning process leading to the suspicion of PE is not well described in primary care.

Objective: to explore the diagnostic reasoning of FPs when pulmonary embolism is suspected.