Safety of Withholding Anticoagulant Therapy in Patients Who Have Clinically Suspected Pulmonary Embolism and Negative Results on Helical Computed Tomography

Abstract

With the limitations of a small single-center series, our data suggest that withholding anticoagulation in patients with suspected acute PE and negative CT results appears to be safe when the clinical probability of PE is assessed as low or intermediate. This technique also provides useful information to pose an alternative diagnosis. US could be avoided in patients without clinical suspicion of DVT.