PERC — pulmonary embolism
Eight criteria for clinical pretest suspicion of PE judged low.
PERC — pulmonary embolism
Principle
Describe the presence of the eight PERC criteria in suspected PE already judged to have low clinical probability.
Scope
Interpret only if the clinician judges clinical pretest suspicion of PE to be low and an alternative diagnosis is plausible. No inference from Wells or Geneva. Adult pilot excluding pregnancy/postpartum; no COVID-19 transposition.
Interpretation limits
PERC negative is interpretable only with low clinical pretest suspicion and a plausible alternative diagnosis. PERC positive does not diagnose PE. No automatically prescribed investigation or treatment.
Formula and logic
Count present criteria (0–8). PERC negative only if all eight criteria are explicitly absent.
Interpretation
- ≤ 0
- PERC negative · all eight criteria absent
- > 0
- PERC positive · at least one criterion present
Definition version : 0.3.0
Sources
- Kline et al. · Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis — PERC — dérivation 2004 et dictionnaire de l’appendice
2004 · Eight-criterion rule, strict abstract/results thresholds, SpO₂ on room air, appendix surgery/trauma under general anaesthesia and hormones. Primary text read; no mixing with hospitalisation wording from other variants.
- NICE — NG158 — recommandation 1.1.16, PERC
2023 · Low clinical pretest suspicion based on overall impression and possible alternative diagnoses; no automatic equivalence with a low Wells score. Indexed primary recommendation accessed on 2026-10-06.