Baseline characteristics and treatment information for haemodynamically stable patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism
| All patients N=848 | Right to left ventricular ratio ≤0.9 on MDCT N=315 | Right to left ventricular ratio >0.9 on MDCT N=533 | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical characteristics, n (%) | ||||
| Age, years, median (25th–75th percentiles) | 72 (59–80) | 69 (52–77) | 74 (63–81) | <0.001 |
| Age>80 years | 184 (21.7%) | 46 (14.6%) | 138 (25.9%) | <0.001 |
| Male gender | 416 (49.0%) | 173 (55.9%) | 243 (45.6%) | 0.009 |
| Risk factors for VTE, n (%) | ||||
| Cancer* | 144 (17.0%) | 61 (19.4%) | 83 (15.6%) | 0.155 |
| Recent surgery† | 89 (10.5%) | 38 (12.1%) | 51 (9.6%) | 0.256 |
| Previous VTE | 121 (14.3%) | 41 (13.0%) | 80 (15.0%) | 0.410 |
| Immobilisation‡ | 167 (19.7%) | 51 (16.2%) | 116 (21.8%) | 0.047 |
| Comorbid diseases, n (%) | ||||
| COPD | 108 (12.7%) | 38 (12.1%) | 70 (13.1%) | 0.688 |
| Congestive heart failure | 51 (6.0%) | 20 (6.3%) | 31 (5.8%) | 0.679 |
| Clinical symptoms and signs at presentation, n (%) | ||||
| Syncope | 128 (15.1%) | 20 (6.3%) | 108 (20.3%) | <0.001 |
| Chest pain | 410 (48.3%) | 169 (53.6%) | 241 (45.2%) | 0.020 |
| Dyspnoea | 680 (80.2%) | 240 (76.2%) | 440 (82.5%) | 0.021 |
| Heart rate ≥110/min | 176 (20.7%) | 46 (14.6%) | 130 (24.4%) | 0.001 |
| Arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation by pulse oximetry <90% | 185 (21.8%) | 49 (15.5%) | 136 (25.5%) | 0.001 |
| SBP<100 mm Hg | 34 (4.0%) | 10 (3.2%) | 24 (4.5%) | 0.341 |
| Echocardiography and cardiac biomarkers, n (%) | ||||
| RV dysfunction (echocardiogram) | 192 (22.6%) | 29 (9.2%) | 163 (30.6%) | <0.001 |
| BNP>100 pg/ml | 380 (44.8%) | 99 (31.4%) | 281 (52.7%) | <0.001 |
| cTnI>0 ng/ml | 139 (16.4%) | 23 (7.3%) | 116 (21.8%) | <0.001 |
| Treatment | ||||
| Insertion of an IVC filter | 8 (0.9%) | 4 (1.3%) | 4 (0.7%) | 0.435 |
*Active or under treatment in the last year.
†In the previous month.
‡Immobilised patients defined as non-surgical patients with limited mobility (ie, total bed rest with bathroom privileges) for ≥4 days in the month prior to PE diagnosis.
BNP, brain natriuretic peptide; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; cTnI, cardiac troponin I; IVC, inferior vena cava; MDCT, multidetector CT; RV, right ventricle; SBP, systolic blood pressure; VTE, venous thromboembolism.