Wells Score for PE

Wells Score for Pulmonary Embolism

Select all criteria present:

Clinical signs of DVT

Lower limb oedema and/or pain on palpation of the deep veins

+3 points

PE is the most likely diagnosis

Clinical judgement that PE is the most probable diagnosis or at least as likely as any alternative

+3 points

Heart rate > 100 bpm

Tachycardia

+1.5 points

Immobilisation or surgery in the past 4 weeks

Immobilisation ≥ 3 days or any surgery in the past 4 weeks

+1.5 points

Prior PE or DVT

Previously documented history of venous thromboembolism

+1.5 points

Haemoptysis

Coughing up blood from the respiratory tract

+1 point

Active malignancy

On treatment, treated within the last 6 months, or receiving palliative care

+1 point

Wells Score Interpretation

Three-level version — Wells et al., Thromb Haemost 2000

Score	Probability	PE prevalence
< 2	Low	~3.6%
2 to 6	Moderate	~20.5%
> 6	High	~66.7%

Dichotomised version — van Belle et al. (Christopher Study), JAMA 2006

Score	Classification	Management
≤ 4	PE unlikely	D-dimer; if negative, PE excluded
> 4	PE likely	CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) directly

Note: The Wells Score is a risk stratification tool that must be used alongside clinical judgement. It does not replace individualised medical assessment. In high-probability patients, empirical anticoagulation may be considered whilst awaiting imaging if the bleeding risk is acceptable.

References

1. Wells PS, et al. Derivation of a simple clinical model to categorize patients probability of pulmonary embolism: increasing the models utility with the SimpliRED D-dimer. Thromb Haemost. 2000;83(3):416–20. PubMed ↗
2. van Belle A, et al. Effectiveness of managing suspected pulmonary embolism using an algorithm combining clinical probability, D-Dimer testing, and computed tomography. JAMA. 2006;295(2):172–9. PubMed ↗

Calculamedica

Wells Score for PE

Result

Wells Score Interpretation