Pulmonary embolism was detected in 5.9% of patients with COPD who were admitted to the hospital with an acute worsening of respiratory symptoms, using a predefined diagnostic algorithm, according to the results of a study published in JAMA. Investigators conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study with prospective follow-up in seven French hospitals. They applied, within 48 hours of admission, a predefined pulmonary embolism diagnostic algorithm based on Geneva score, D-dimer levels, and spiral computed tomographic pulmonary angiography plus leg compression ultrasound. Among 740 patients with a mean age of 68.2, pulmonary embolism was confirmed within 48 hours of admission in 44. During 3 months of follow-up, pulmonary embolism occurred in only 0.7% of patients who were deemed not to have venous thromboembolism at admission and who did not receive anticoagulation therapy. The overall mortality rate at 3-months was 6.8%, with the mortality rate higher among those with venous thromboembolism at admission than among those without it (25.9% vs 5.2%). Venous thromboembolism occurred in 11.7% of patients in whom pulmonary embolism was suspected, compared with 4.3% among those in whom it was not suspected
