Prevalence of diagnosed pulmonary embolism in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation presenting at the emergency department of a large North American academic hospital center

Background The real prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation (COPDe) remains largely unknown, especially in North America. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of PE in patients with COPDe at a large academic Canadian hospital.