Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Unexplained Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Grégoire Le Gal, Marc Righini
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters15 August 2006Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Unexplained Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseGrégoire Le Gal, MD and Marc Righini, MDGrégoire Le Gal, MDFrom Brest University Hospital, 29609 Brest Cedex, France, and Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.Search for more papers by this author and Marc Righini, MDFrom Brest University Hospital, 29609 Brest Cedex, France, and Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-145-4-200608150-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR: We read with great interest the article by Tillie-Leblond and colleagues (1) on the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are hospitalized for severe exacerbation of unknown origin. This paper deserves 2 comments.First, the authors reported that a low clinical probability as assessed by the Geneva score (2) could not rule out pulmonary embolism. This is hardly a surprise, because that clinical prediction rule was never intended to be used alone to rule in or rule out pulmonary embolism. Rather, it allows a more rational interpretation of test results, ...References1. Tillie-Leblond I, Marquette CH, Perez T, Scherpereel A, Zanetti C, Tonnel AB, et al. Pulmonary embolism in patients with unexplained exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: prevalence and risk factors. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:390-6. [PMID: 16549851] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Wicki J, Perneger TV, Junod AF, Bounameaux H, Perrier A. Assessing clinical probability of pulmonary embolism in the emergency ward: a simple score. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:92-7. [PMID: 11146703] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Le Gal G, Righini M, Roy PM, Sanchez O, Aujesky D, Bounameaux H, et al. Prediction of pulmonary embolism in the emergency department: the revised Geneva score. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:165-71. [PMID: 16461960] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Grégoire Le Gal, MD; Marc Righini, MDAffiliations: From Brest University Hospital, 29609 Brest Cedex, France, and Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPrediction of Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Department: The Revised Geneva Score Grégoire Le Gal , Marc Righini , Pierre-Marie Roy , Olivier Sanchez , Drahomir Aujesky , Henri Bounameaux , and Arnaud Perrier Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Unexplained Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Prevalence and Risk Factors Isabelle Tillie-Leblond , Charles-Hugo Marquette , Thierry Perez , Arnaud Scherpereel , Christophe Zanetti , André-Bernard Tonnel , and Martine Remy-Jardin Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Unexplained Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Isabelle Tillie-Leblond , Charles-Hugo Marquette , and Thierry Perez Metrics Cited byDiagnosis of pulmonary embolism in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A cross‐sectional studyPrognosis of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism in Buenos Aires: a prospective cohort studyPerformance of the Wells score in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism during hospitalization: A delayed-type cross sectional study in a community hospital 15 August 2006Volume 145, Issue 4Page: 310KeywordsChronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseConflicts of interestDatabasesPulmonary embolismSurgery ePublished: 15 August 2006 Issue Published: 15 August 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...