EMF-5: Application of the Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria in a Rural Population

Abstract

Recent advances have shown pulmonary embolism can be safely ruled out in a very low-risk population of patients who met a subset of defined criteria based on history and clinical findings. The PE Rule-out Criteria (PERC) developed by Kline et. al. showed eight clinical variables, if negative, lowered the risk of developing a PE to less than 2.0%. PERC has been externally validated in three studies, in tertiary centers with a largely urban population. Here it was sought to validate the PERC rule in a rural population.