RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Diagnostic utility of electrocardiogram for diagnosing pulmonary embolism
JF Emergency Medicine Journal
JO Emerg Med J
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine
SP 729
OP 730
DO 10.1136/emj.2005.029041
VO 22
IS 10
A1 Ged Brown
A1 Kerstin Hogg
YR 2005
UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/22/10/729.2.abstract
AB 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). It is concluded that although there are electrocardiogram (ECG) changes that are more common in PE, the ECG alone is not sufficiently sensitive or specific to rule out or rule in the diagnosis.