Pulmonary embolism in patients attending the accident and emergency department with pleuritic chest pain.

A series of 92 patients presenting to an accident and emergency department with pleuritic chest pain is described. Only one of the patients had a diagnosis of pulmonary embolus. All the patients were followed up over a period of 3 months. During this time none of them suffered from mortality or morbidity which could be related to pulmonary embolism. No evidence was obtained during this study that a more aggressive approach to such patients is required in order to achieve the diagnosis.