| Derivation cohort | |
| Subjects n | 2874 |
| Clinical characteristics | |
| Age years median (interquartile range) | 72 (60–80) |
| Age >80 years | 675 (23) |
| Males | 1122 (39) |
| Risk factors for VTE | |
| Cancer# | 551 (19) |
| Recent surgery¶ | 311 (11) |
| Previous VTE | 424 (15) |
| Immobilisation+ | 475 (16) |
| Comorbid diseases | |
| COPD | 381 (13) |
| Chronic heart failure | 212 (7.4) |
| Clinical symptoms and signs at presentation | |
| Syncope | 349 (12) |
| Chest pain | 1170 (41) |
| Dyspnoea | 2062 (72) |
| Heart rate ≥110 beats per min§ | 533 (18) |
| SaO2 <90%ƒ | 625 (22) |
| SBP 90–100 mmHg## | 156 (5.4) |
| Simplified PESI | |
| Low-risk | 1029 (36) |
| High-risk | 1845 (64) |
| Imaging and cardiac biomarkers | |
| Echocardiographic RV dysfunction¶¶,++ | 716 (33) |
| CT-assessed RV dysfunction§§,ƒƒ | 787 (50) |
| RV dysfunction¶¶,###,¶¶¶ | 910 (36) |
| BNP >100 pg·mL−1+++ | 794 (50) |
| Elevated cardiac troponin¶¶,§§§ | 988 (37) |
| Treatment | |
| Insertion of an IVC filter | 63 (2.2) |
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise stated. VTE: venous thromboembolism; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SaO2: arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation; SBP: systolic blood pressure; PESI: Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index; RV: right ventricular; CT: computed tomography; BNP: brain natriuretic peptide; IVC: inferior vena cava. #: active or under treatment in the previous year; ¶: in the previous month; +: nonsurgical patients who had been immobilised (i.e. total bed rest with bathroom privileges) for ≥4 days in the month prior to pulmonary embolism diagnosis; §: n=2743; ƒ: n=2429; ##: n=2742; ¶¶: see definitions, tests and cut-offs for specific studies in table 1; ++: n=2188; §§: defined as right ventricle/left ventricle ratio >1; ƒƒ: n=1571; ###: echocardiogram or CT; ¶¶¶: n=2504; +++: n=1590; §§§: n=2693.