POEMs
YEARS Clinical Decision Tool Decreases CTA in Patients with Suspected Pulmonary Embolism
Am Fam Physician. 2017 Nov 15;96(10):online.
Clinical Question
Can a simple clinical decision tool safely decrease the use of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism?
Bottom Line
In this study, using a simplified algorithm in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism can safely decrease the number of CTAs. (Level of Evidence = 1b)
Synopsis
Over the past several years, the addition of d-dimers to emergency department laboratory panels and the widespread access of rapid diagnostic tools (i.e., CTA) have resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of pulmonary embolism to approximately 10%. These researchers from the Netherlands prospectively evaluated a simple algorithm prediction model and also compared it with the Wells prediction model in 3,465 consecutively recruited patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. The simple model (called YEARS) assesses three factors: clinical signs of deep venous thrombosis, hemoptysis, and whether pulmonary embolism is the most likely diagnosis.
In addition to a d-dimer test result, each patient was scored using the YEARS and Wells models. If a patient had no YEARS items and a d-dimer result of less than 1,000 ng per mL, the authors ruled out pulmonary embolism (1,320 patients fit this category). If a patient had no YEARS items and a d-dimer result of 1,000 ng per mL or greater, the clinician ordered a CTA (423 patients). If a patient had one or more YEARS items and a d-dimer result of less than 500 ng per mL, pulmonary embolism was ruled out (331 patients), but if the d-dimer result was 500 ng per mL or greater, the clinician ordered a CTA (1,391 patients). The researchers followed patients in whom a pulmonary embolism was ruled out for three months. Approximately 13% of the patients were diagnosed with pulmonary embolism at the outset, a handful of patients were anticoagulated for reasons other than thromboembolism (e.g., atrial fibrillation), and 18 (0.6%) of the 2,946 remaining patients were subsequently diagnosed with pulmonary embolism.
POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) are provided by EssentialEvidence Plus, a point-of-care clinical decision support system published by Wiley-Blackwell. For more information, please see http://www.essentialevidenceplus.com. Copyright Wiley-Blackwell. Used with permission.
For definitions of levels of evidence used in POEMs, see http://www.essentialevidenceplus.com/product/ebm_loe.cfm?show=oxford.
To subscribe to a free podcast of these and other POEMs that appear in AFP, search in iTunes for “POEM of the Week” or go to http://goo.gl/3niWXb.
This series is coordinated by Sumi Sexton, MD, Associate Deputy Editor.
A collection of POEMs published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/poems.
Want to use this article elsewhere? Get Permissions
CME Quiz
More in AFP
Editor's Collections
Related Content
More in Pubmed
MOST RECENT ISSUE
Email Alerts
Don't miss a single issue. Sign up for the free AFP email table of contents.