Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism is comparatively common on clinic, but it is difficult to diagnose. Diagnosis should begin with recognizing risk factors of pulmonary embolism and assessing the possibility of pulmonary embolism and symptoms and signs of patients with pulmonary embolism. Routine examinations include D-dimer, electrocardiogram, chest X ray, and echocardiogram and so on. Along with the development of imaging technology, many advanced methods are also gradually applied in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism and shows the good prospects. Pulmonary arteriography is a golden standard in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Multidetector CT might be another one, but diagnosis based on clinical findings is useful for pulmonary embolism.