In patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, multidetector CTA-CTV has a higher diagnostic sensitivity than does CTA alone, with similar specificity. The predictive value of either CTA or CTA-CTV is high with a concordant clinical assessment, but additional testing is necessary when the clinical probability is inconsistent with the imaging results.

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BACKGROUND-Selection of patients for diagnostic tests for acute pulmonary embolism requires recognition of the possibility of pulmonary embolism based on the clinical characteristics. Patients in the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II (PIOPED II) had a broad spectrum of severity, which permits an evaluation of the subtle characteristics of mild pulmonary embolism as well as the characteristics of severe pulmonary embolism.