Chest radiograph as a triage tool in the imaging-based diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether using a chest radiograph to triage patients being imaged for pulmonary embolism (PE) with pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) or ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy resulted in fewer indeterminate imaging results. CONCLUSION: Chest radiograph can be a valuable triage tool in deciding an appropriate technique for imaging PE, and can yield more definitive diagnoses.