Topline
Long-term mortality rates among individuals who have had a pulmonary embolism are significantly higher than rates in the general population.
Methodology
Researchers investigated long-term outcomes of patients with pulmonary embolism in a single-center registry.
They followed 896 patients for up to 14 years.
Data were from consecutive cases treated between May 2005 and December 2017.
Takeaway
The total follow-up time was 3,908 patient-years (median, 3.1 years).
One-year and five-year mortality rates were 19.7% (95% confidence interval, 17.2%-22.4%) and 37.1% (95% CI, 33.6%-40.5%), respectively, for patients with pulmonary embolism.
The most frequent causes of death were cancer (28.5%), pulmonary embolism (19.4%), infections (13.9%), and cardiovascular events (11.6%).
Late mortality (>30 days) was more frequent than in the general population for patients with cancer (5-year standardized mortality ratio, 2.77; 95% CI, 2.41-3.16) and for patients without cancer (1.80; 95% CI, 1.50-2.14), compared with expected rates.
In practice
stated Johannes Eckelt, Clinic of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen (Germany).
Source
“Long-term Mortality in Pulmonary Embolism: Results in a Single-Center Registry,” by Mr. Eckelt and colleagues was published in Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Limitations
Owing to the single-center study design, selection bias cannot be excluded, limiting the generalizability of the study findings, the authors stated.
Disclosures
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.