Wells’ Criteria
| Wells’ criteria | |
| Clinically suspected DVT | 3.0 |
| PE at least as likely or more likely than alternative diagnosis | 3.0 |
| Pulse rate >100 | 1.5 |
| Immobilisation >3 days | 1.5 |
| Surgery last 4 weeks | 1.5 |
| Previous VTE | 1.5 |
| Haemoptysis | 1.0 |
| Malignancy | 1.0 |
Wells’ criteria is a semi-objective way of predicting pre-test probability in a patient with a possible PE.
In the original score patients were divided into three risk groups:
- Patients scoring <2.0 were considered low risk
- Patients scoring 2.0 to 6.0 were considered moderate (intermediate) risk
- Patients scoring >6.0 at high risk of pulmonary embolus
Patients with a score of <2 have a pre-test probability of a PE of less than 15%.
Wells’ score can also dichotomised to create only 2 risk categories. This revised Wells Score has been adopted by NICE in its 2012 Guideline. In this system:
- Patients scoring 4 or less are low risk (or PE unlikely)
- Patients scoring more than 4 are high risk (or PE likely)