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Hugh H. Hussey, MD

JAMA. 1976;235(18):2007.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Clinicians generally agree that early recognition of pulmonary embolism is vital to a patient's welfare since it makes possible prompt treatment to meet the exigencies of the case, whatever they may be. The direct treatment will vary according to individual needs and may entail anticoagulant therapy, ligation or placement of an umbrella filter in the inferior vena cava, pulmonary embolectomy, or a combination of the foregoing methods. Supportive measures may be needed to relieve pain, to treat infection in the case of septic pulmonary infarction, or to treat shock or congestive heart failure.

The problem of recognizing pulmonary embolism or infarction has been alluded to in an earlier editorial (226: 1351, 1973). The problem exists because the disorder is a great mimicker and its manifestations are often subtly misleading. Thus, it may appear as an otherwise unexplained fever following a surgical operation or in a patient with congestive heart failure; . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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