Pulmonary embolism

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Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is responsible for approximately 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in the United States each year. With a diverse range of clinical presentations from asymptomatic to death, diagnosing PE can be challenging. Various resources are available, such as clinical scoring systems, laboratory data, and imaging studies which help guide clinicians in their work-up of PE. Prompt recognition and treatment are essential for minimizing the mortality and morbidity associated with PE. Advances in recognition and treatment have also enabled treatment of some patients in the home setting and limited the amount of time spent in the hospital. This article will review the risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, evaluation, and treatment of PE.

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Most cited references 16

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Derivation of a simple clinical model to categorize patients probability of pulmonary embolism: increasing the models utility with the SimpliRED D-dimer.

P. S. Wells, D Anderson, M. Rodger … (2000)

We have previously demonstrated that a clinical model can be safely used in a management strategy in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE). We sought to simplify the clinical model and determine a scoring system, that when combined with D-dimer results, would safely exclude PE without the need for other tests, in a large proportion of patients. We used a randomly selected sample of 80% of the patients that participated in a prospective cohort study of patients with suspected PE to perform a logistic regression analysis on 40 clinical variables to create a simple clinical prediction rule. Cut points on the new rule were determined to create two scoring systems. In the first scoring system patients were classified as having low, moderate and high probability of PE with the proportions being similar to those determined in our original study. The second system was designed to create two categories, PE likely and unlikely. The goal in the latter was that PE unlikely patients with a negative D-dimer result would have PE in less than 2% of cases. The proportion of patients with PE in each category was determined overall and according to a positive or negative SimpliRED D-dimer result. After these determinations we applied the models to the remaining 20% of patients as a validation of the results. The following seven variables and assigned scores (in brackets) were included in the clinical prediction rule: Clinical symptoms of DVT (3.0), no alternative diagnosis (3.0), heart rate >100 (1.5), immobilization or surgery in the previous four weeks (1.5), previous DVT/PE (1.5), hemoptysis (1.0) and malignancy (1.0). Patients were considered low probability if the score was 4.0. 7.8% of patients with scores of less than or equal to 4 had PE but if the D-dimer was negative in these patients the rate of PE was only 2.2% (95% CI = 1.0% to 4.0%) in the derivation set and 1.7% in the validation set. Importantly this combination occurred in 46% of our study patients. A score of <2.0 and a negative D-dimer results in a PE rate of 1.5% (95% CI = 0.4% to 3.7%) in the derivation set and 2.7% (95% CI = 0.3% to 9.0%) in the validation set and only occurred in 29% of patients. The combination of a score < or =4.0 by our simple clinical prediction rule and a negative SimpliRED D-Dimer result may safely exclude PE in a large proportion of patients with suspected PE.

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Prediction of pulmonary embolism in the emergency department: the revised Geneva score.

Grégoire Le Gal, Marc Righini, Pierre-Marie Roy … (2006)

Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism requires clinical probability assessment. Implicit assessment is accurate but is not standardized, and current prediction rules have shortcomings. To construct a simple score based entirely on clinical variables and independent from physicians' implicit judgment. Derivation and external validation of the score in 2 independent management studies on pulmonary embolism diagnosis. Emergency departments of 3 university hospitals in Europe. Consecutive patients admitted for clinically suspected pulmonary embolism. Collected data included demographic characteristics, risk factors, and clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of venous thromboembolism. The variables statistically significantly associated with pulmonary embolism in univariate analysis were included in a multivariate logistic regression model. Points were assigned according to the regression coefficients. The score was then externally validated in an independent cohort. The score comprised 8 variables (points): age older than 65 years (1 point), previous deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (3 points), surgery or fracture within 1 month (2 points), active malignant condition (2 points), unilateral lower limb pain (3 points), hemoptysis (2 points), heart rate of 75 to 94 beats/min (3 points) or 95 beats/min or more (5 points), and pain on lower-limb deep venous palpation and unilateral edema (4 points). In the validation set, the prevalence of pulmonary embolism was 8% in the low-probability category (0 to 3 points), 28% in the intermediate-probability category (4 to 10 points), and 74% in the high-probability category (> or =11 points). Interobserver agreement for the score items was not studied. The proposed score is entirely standardized and is based on clinical variables. It has sustained internal and external validation and should now be tested for clinical usefulness in an outcome study.

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Clinical characteristics of patients with acute pulmonary embolism: data from PIOPED II.

Paul Stein, Afzal Beemath, Fadi Matta … (2007)

Selection of patients for diagnostic tests for acute pulmonary embolism requires recognition of the possibility of pulmonary embolism on the basis of the clinical characteristics. Patients in the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II had a broad spectrum of severity, which permits an evaluation of the subtle characteristics of mild pulmonary embolism and the characteristics of severe pulmonary embolism. Data are from the national collaborative study, Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II. There may be dyspnea only on exertion. The onset of dyspnea is usually, but not always, rapid. Orthopnea may occur. In patients with pulmonary embolism in the main or lobar pulmonary arteries, dyspnea or tachypnea occurred in 92%, but the largest pulmonary embolism was in the segmental pulmonary arteries in only 65%. In general, signs and symptoms were similar in elderly and younger patients, but dyspnea or tachypnea was less frequent in elderly patients with no previous cardiopulmonary disease. Dyspnea may be absent even in patients with circulatory collapse. Patients with a low-probability objective clinical assessment sometimes had pulmonary embolism, even in proximal vessels. Symptoms may be mild, and generally recognized symptoms may be absent, particularly in patients with pulmonary embolism only in the segmental pulmonary branches, but they may be absent even with severe pulmonary embolism. A high or intermediate-probability objective clinical assessment suggests the need for diagnostic studies, but a low-probability objective clinical assessment does not exclude the diagnosis. Maintenance of a high level of suspicion is critical.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJCIIS

Title: International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 2229-5151

ISSN (Electronic): 2231-5004

Publication date (Print): Jan-Mar 2013

Volume: 3

Issue: 1

Pages: 69-72

Affiliations

[1]Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Mamta Swaroop, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N. St. Clair, Ste 650, Chicago, IL, USA. E-mail: mswaroop@ 123456northwestern.edu

Article

Publisher ID: IJCIIS-3-69

DOI: 10.4103/2229-5151.109427

PMC ID: 3665123

PubMed ID: 23724389

SO-VID: b170da29-a831-4346-88ec-163087643559

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Pulmonary embolism

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Most cited references 16

Derivation of a simple clinical model to categorize patients probability of pulmonary embolism: increasing the models utility with the SimpliRED D-dimer.

Prediction of pulmonary embolism in the emergency department: the revised Geneva score.

Clinical characteristics of patients with acute pulmonary embolism: data from PIOPED II.

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