Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Pulmonary Embolism

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Abstract

Over the past two decades, considerable progress in technology and clinical research methods have led to advances in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of acute venous thromboembolism. Despite this, however, the diagnosis is still often missed and preventive methods are often ignored. Published guidelines are useful, but are limited by the existing evidence base so that controversies remain with regard to topics such as duration of anticoagulation, indications for placement and removal of inferior vena caval filters, and when and how to administer thrombolytic therapy. The morbidity and mortality of this disease remain high, particularly when undiagnosed. While preventive approaches remain crucial, the focus of this review is on the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to acute venous thromboembolism, with an emphasis on acute pulmonary embolism.

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Most cited references 65

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Acute pulmonary embolism: clinical outcomes in the International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism Registry (ICOPER)

S Z Goldhaber, L Visani, M. De Rosa (1999)

Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains poorly understood. Rates of clinical outcomes such as death and recurrence vary widely among trials. We therefore established the International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism Registry (ICOPER), with the aim of identifying factors associated with death. 2454 consecutive eligible patients with acute PE were registered from 52 hospitals in seven countries in Europe and North America. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 3 months. The prognostic effect of baseline factors on survival was assessed with multivariate analyses. 2110 (86.0%) patients had PE proven by necropsy, high-probability lung scan, pulmonary angiography, or venous ultrasonography plus high clinical suspicion; ICOPER accepted without independent review diagnoses and interpretation of imaging provided by participating centres; 3-month follow-up was completed in 98.0% of patients. The overall crude mortality rate at 3 months was 17.4% (426 of 2454 deaths, including 52 patients lost to follow-up): 179 of 397 (45.1%) deaths were ascribed to PE and 70 of 397 (17.6%) to cancer, and no information on the cause of death was available for 29 patients. After exclusion of 61 patients in whom PE was first discovered at necropsy, the mortality rate at 3 months was 15.3% (365 of 2393 deaths). On multiple-regression modelling, age over 70 years (hazard ratio 1.6 [95% CI 1.1-2.3]), cancer (2.3 [1.5-3.5]), congestive heart failure (2.4 [1.5-3.7]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.8 [1.2-2.7]), systolic arterial hypotension (2.9 [1.7-5.0]), tachypnoea (2.0 [1.2-3.2]), and right-ventricular hypokinesis on echocardiography (2.0 [1.3-2.9]) were identified as significant prognostic factors. PE remains an important clinical problem with a high mortality rate. Data from ICOPER provide rates and highlight adverse prognostic categories that will help in planning of future trials of high-risk PE patients.

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Trends in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: a 25-year population-based study.

M D Silverstein, J A Heit, D Mohr … (1998)

The incidence of venous thromboembolism has not been well described, and there are no studies of long-term trends in the incidence of venous thromboembolism. To estimate the incidence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and to describe trends in incidence. We performed a retrospective review of the complete medical records from a population-based inception cohort of 2218 patients who resided within Olmsted County, Minnesota, and had an incident deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism during the 25-year period from 1966 through 1990. The overall average age- and sex-adjusted annual incidence of venous thromboembolism was 117 per 100000 (deep vein thrombosis, 48 per 100000; pulmonary embolism, 69 per 100000), with higher age-adjusted rates among males than females (130 vs 110 per 100000, respectively). The incidence of venous thromboembolism rose markedly with increasing age for both sexes, with pulmonary embolism accounting for most of the increase. The incidence of pulmonary embolism was approximately 45% lower during the last 15 years of the study for both sexes and all age strata, while the incidence of deep vein thrombosis remained constant for males across all age strata, decreased for females younger than 55 years, and increased for women older than 60 years. Venous thromboembolism is a major national health problem, especially among the elderly. While the incidence of pulmonary embolism has decreased over time, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis remains unchanged for men and is increasing for older women. These findings emphasize the need for more accurate identification of patients at risk for venous thromboembolism, as well as a safe and effective prophylaxis.

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Multidetector computed tomography for acute pulmonary embolism.

Paul Stein, Sarah E. Fowler, Lawrence Goodman … (2006)

The accuracy of multidetector computed tomographic angiography (CTA) for the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism has not been determined conclusively. The Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II trial was a prospective, multicenter investigation of the accuracy of multidetector CTA alone and combined with venous-phase imaging (CTA-CTV) for the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. We used a composite reference test to confirm or rule out the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Among 824 patients with a reference diagnosis and a completed CT study, CTA was inconclusive in 51 because of poor image quality. Excluding such inconclusive studies, the sensitivity of CTA was 83 percent and the specificity was 96 percent. Positive predictive values were 96 percent with a concordantly high or low probability on clinical assessment, 92 percent with an intermediate probability on clinical assessment, and nondiagnostic if clinical probability was discordant. CTA-CTV was inconclusive in 87 of 824 patients because the image quality of either CTA or CTV was poor. The sensitivity of CTA-CTV for pulmonary embolism was 90 percent, and specificity was 95 percent. CTA-CTV was also nondiagnostic with a discordant clinical probability. In patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, multidetector CTA-CTV has a higher diagnostic sensitivity than does CTA alone, with similar specificity. The predictive value of either CTA or CTA-CTV is high with a concordant clinical assessment, but additional testing is necessary when the clinical probability is inconsistent with the imaging results. Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society.

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: http://f1000.com/thefaculty/member/4114973841347282

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Journal ID (nlm-ta): F1000 Med Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): F1000 Med Rep

Title: F1000 Medicine Reports

Publisher: Faculty of 1000 Ltd

ISSN (Electronic): 1757-5931

Publication date (Electronic): 02 May 2012

Publication date Collection: 2012

Volume: 4

Electronic Location Identifier: 9

Affiliations

[1]simpleDivision of Pulmonary and Critical Care Director, Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710USA

Article

Publisher ID: 9

DOI: 10.3410/M4-9

PMC ID: 3357009

PubMed ID: 22619694

SO-VID: 78f6a2a7-236f-4a50-a11e-2b8dfc86f100

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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You may not use this work for commercial purposes

Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Pulmonary Embolism

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Most cited references 65

Acute pulmonary embolism: clinical outcomes in the International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism Registry (ICOPER)

Trends in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: a 25-year population-based study.

Multidetector computed tomography for acute pulmonary embolism.

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