By Katherine Kozlowski, medical author and contributor to Vein News and VeinsVeinsVeins.com.
“How common is pulmonary embolism (PE) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?”
METHODS:
In France, 7 hospitals investigated the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients admitted to the hospital who have acute worsening of respiratory symptoms AND have COPD.
Patients were assessed during the first 48-hour period at the hospital. Patients who did not have venous
thromboembolism and did not receive anticoagulation treatment were also assessed at a 3-month follow up visit.
740 patients were included.
OUTCOMES MEASURED:
1st outcome: Pulmonary embolism diagnosed within 48-hours of hospital admission, using several diagnostic criteria.
2nd outcome: Pulmonary embolism diagnosed at 3-month follow-up visit (in patients who did not have venous thromboembolism during first 48 hour period and did not receive anticoagulation treatment).
RESULTS:
Based on the diagnostic criteria used, 44 of 740 (5.9%) were diagnosed with PE during the first 48-hours of hospital admission.
Of the group who did not have PE, 5 of 670 (0.7%) patients had PE during the 3-month follow up.
The overall 3-month mortality rate was 6.8%.
More patients died during the 3-month follow-up period who had venous thromboembolism at admission compared to those who did not have venous thromboembolism at admission (25.9% versus 5.2%, respectively).
CONCLUSION:
In patients with COPD, if they present to the hospital with worsening acute respiratory symptoms, there may be a benefit to implementing systematic screening for pulmonary embolism. Future research is warranted.
Reference:
Couturaud F, Bertoletti L, Pastre J et al. Prevalence of pulmonary embolism among patients with COPD hospitalized with acutely worsening respiratory symptoms. JAMA 2021; 325(1): 59-68.