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Previous Volume 350:82-84 January 1, 2004 Number 1 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: In their Clinical Practice article on suspected pulmonary embolism, Fedullo and Tapson (Sept. 25 issue)¹ state that a positive computed tomographic (CT) angiogram in patients with a low clinical probability of pulmonary embolism confirms the diagnosis. Although probably consistent with current practice, this recommendation is not supported by Bayesian analysis.

The authors define a low clinical probability of pulmonary embolism as a prevalence of 5 to 10 percent. Even if CT angiography is assumed to have a sensitivity and a specificity of 95 percent (which is much higher than many published estimates^2,3), with a positive CT . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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