title: Advances in diagnosing and excluding pulmonary embolism: spiral CT and D-dimer measurement.
abstract: No single imaging study or blood test is 100% sensitive and specific for pulmonary embolism. A combination of pretest clinical probability assessment, noninvasive pulmonary imaging (V/Q scanning or spiral CT), and D-dimer testing seems prudent before pursuing pulmonary angiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Carman
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Deitcher
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D