Recognition of unprovoked (idiopathic) pulmonary embolism-Prospective observational study.

Background: The assessment of the clinical symptoms is the weakest link of the pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnostic algorithm. Despite the presence of highly sensitive and specific imaging methods, verifying PE remains difficult due to nonspecific clinical symptoms and frequently its subclinical course.

Objective: The aim of this study is to improve the recognition of PE by investigating the clinical presentation and short-term prognosis of unprovoked PE in comparison to provoked PE.