A 37-year-old woman presents with sudden onset pleuritic chest pain and dyspnoea 10 days after starting combined oral contraceptive pills. She is tach...

Question

A 37-year-old woman presents with sudden onset pleuritic chest pain and dyspnoea 10 days after starting combined oral contraceptive pills. She is tachycardic and mildly hypoxic. According to Wells' criteria, she is at moderate probability for pulmonary embolism. What is the most appropriate next diagnostic test?

Accepted Answer

CT pulmonary angiography

Answer

D-dimer assay only

Answer

Ventilation-perfusion scan in all cases

Answer

Lower limb venous Doppler ultrasound only

Answer

No imaging is required; treat empirically

ca-mccqe1 MCQ (SBA): Pulmonary embolism diagnostic approach