Pulmonary Embolism Rule Out Critieria (PERC) A brief reminder about the PERC rules... Use of the PERC (Pulmonary Embolism Rule-out Criteria) rule can significantly decrease work-up for pulmonary embolism. To apply this rule, the clinician must first use clinical gestalt to classify the patient as low risk. The PERC rule, which consists of eight clinical criteria including history, physical and vital signs, can then be used. If both of these criteria are met, then there is less than a 2 percent risk that this patient has a PE and no further work-up is needed. PERC Rule: Age < 50 years Pulse < 100 bpm SaO2 > 94% No unilateral leg swelling No hemoptysis No recent trauma or surgery No prior PE or DVT No hormone use This rule has now been validated in a large, multicenter trial. Bottom line: If you walk out of the room and your clinical gestalt is "no PE" and the PERC rule is negative, there is a <2% chance of pulmonary embolism (<2% probability, by the way, is what many PE experts consider the test threshold)
