CT-PA is the gold standard for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, but requires use of radiation and iodinated contrast. There is an overall low incidence of positive studies (5%) in the patient population 18-45. Our study evaluates the negative predictive value of MRI as the primary imaging modality for exclusion of suspected PE in patients <40 y/o and/or relative contraindication to iodinated contrast. We found a negative predictive value of 99% in our patient population. These results suggest that MRI is an effective first-line imaging modality to exclude PE, while reducing exposure to ionizing radiation and iodinated contrast.
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