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EMS rarely suspects PE, but detection speeds CT
Prehospital Detection of Acute Pulmonary Embolism and Its Association with Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Journal of Clinical Medicine · Added 3 November 2026
A German retrospective cohort of 171 EMS-transported patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism found prehospital crews correctly suspected PE in only 5.3% of cases, but correct detection was associated with time to CT pulmonary angiography halving (median 2.1 vs 4.0 hours).
- Study type
- Cohort
- Design
- Retrospective single-centre cohort, EMS protocols 2019-2024
- Participants
- 171 EMS-transported patients with in-hospital confirmed PE, Bochum, Germany
- Main finding
- PE correctly suspected prehospital in 9/171 (5.3%, 95% CI 2.8-9.7%); time to CTPA 2.1 vs 4.0 hours with detection (p<0.001); detection only in physician-staffed encounters (10.8% vs 0%, p=0.003); 22.5% diagnosed only after 24 hours
- Caveat
- Single centre, retrospective, detection defined by EMS documentation, physician-staffed system, exploratory analyses
- Bottom line
- Hypothesis-generating
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Done in a physician-staffed German system, so the detection rate isn't directly comparable — but the core message, that PE is rarely suspected before hospital and detection speeds imaging, applies in any paramedic-led system.
Learning goal
Recognise prehospital presentations of pulmonary embolism to speed diagnosis and improve patient outcomes.
More
- Topic: Other
- Daily scan: 3 November 2026
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