Breathlessness at 11 weeks of pregnancy
History
31-year-old woman, 11 weeks into her first pregnancy, with 2 days of breathlessness and left-sided pleuritic chest pain. No leg symptoms, no haemoptysis. Heart rate 108/min, SpO₂ 95% on air. The obstetric team considers PE the most likely diagnosis. D-dimer 820 ng/mL. Chest radiograph normal. Question: how should suspected PE be investigated, and what is the radiation risk?
Step 1 · Is imaging needed?
Using the pregnancy-adapted YEARS algorithm, what follows from these findings?