PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rosa María Ortiz Comino
AU  - Rosalina De Los Santos López
AU  - Sindy Cedeño de Jesús
TI  - Characteristics of the patiens diagnosed with pulmonary thromboembolism in the last 10 years
DP  - 2013 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P4114
VI  - 42
IP  - Suppl 57
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P4114.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P4114.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42
AB  - Introduction:A study is made of the characteristics of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in patients admitted to Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada (Spain) between 2003 and 2012.Materials and methods:A retrospective descriptive study was made of patients diagnosed with PTE in our hospital between 2003 and 2102, analysing variables such as age, symptoms upon admission, diagnostic methods and known risk factors prior to diagnosis. The data were analysed using the SPSS.Results:363 patients were included, with a mean age of 65.3 years (63% over age 65 years). The main reason for consultation was dyspnea (74%) and chest pain (52%). D-dimer evaluation was always tested, being positive in 92%. Imaging tests for diagnostic confirmation comprised CT angiography (CTa) in 76% of the cases, scintigraphy in 31% or both in 7%. The analysis of the distribution over time shows that CTa was performed in 34.6% of the patients in 2003 against 94.6% of the patients in 2012. During hospital stay, Doppler-US evaluation for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was made in 90% of the patients, in 56.2% was positive. In the 49% of the patients that had at least one risk factor, the most frequent was previous PTE or DVT (15%).Conclusions:PTE is more common in patients over 65 years of age. The most frequent clinical manifestation was dyspnea. The most commonly used imaging technique was CTa, with a significant increase in the last 10 years. A large percentage of patients had prior risk factors, and over half of them suffered concomitant DVT. The present study supports the importance of the clinical history and complementary test for the diagnosis of PTE, given the lack of specificity of the clinical manifestations.