Spiral CT diagnosis of pulmonary embolus

With the advent of new diagnostic techniques such as the spiral computed tomography angiogram, the sequence of tests needed to diagnose a pulmonary embolus may be more efficient if the testing behavior is tailored to the patientʹs underlying cardiopulmonary status. This may be particularly important if the patient is elderly or has other reasons for limited cardiopulmonary reserve. We report several cases with a new sequence of testing behavior. (Am J Emerg Med 2000;18:441-443.