Best evidence topic report. Diagnostic utility of electrocardiogram for diagnosing pulmonary embolism.

A shortcut review was carried out to establish the diagnostic utility of electrocardiography in patients with suspected pulmonary embolus (PE). Altogether 952 papers were found using the reported search, of which five presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date, and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results, and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated (table 1).

Combining clinical probability and ventilation-perfusion scan for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether clinical probability estimates improve the utility of VQ scan results in patients being investigated for possible pulmonary embolus. Altogether 387 papers were found using the reported search, of which six presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated.

Towards evidence based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Clinical probability scoring and pulmonary embolism.

A short cut review was carried out to establish the diagnostic utility of clinical probability scoring in stratifying the risk of pulmonary embolus. A total of 938 papers were found using the reported search, of which three presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated.