Dataset Information

Impact of COVID-19 and lockdowns on pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients in France: a nationwide study

ABSTRACT:

Background

This study assessed the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on overall hospitalizations for pulmonary embolism (PE) in France in comparison with previous years, and by COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 status.

Methods

Hospitalization data (2017–2020) were extracted from the French National Discharge database (all public and private hospitals). We included all patients older than 18 years hospitalized during the 3 years and extracted PE status and COVID-19 status (from March 2020). Age, sex and risk factors for PE (such as obesity, cancer) were identified. We also extracted transfer to an intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital death. The number of PE and the frequency of death in patients in 2019 and 2020 were described by month and by COVID-19 status. Logistic regressions were performed to identify the role of COVID-19 among other risk factors for PE in hospitalized patients.

Results

The overall number of patients hospitalized with PE increased by about 16% in 2020 compared with 2019, and mortality also increased to 10.3% (+ 1.2%). These increases were mostly linked to COVID-19 waves, which were associated with PE hospitalization in COVID-19 patients (PE frequency was 3.7%; 2.8% in non-ICU and 8.8% in ICU). The final PE odds ratio for COVID-19 hospitalized patients was 4 compared with other hospitalized patients in 2020. The analyses of PE in non-COVID-19 patients showed a 2.7% increase in 2020 compared with the previous three years.

Conclusion

In 2020, the overall number of patients hospitalized with PE in France increased compared to the previous three years despite a considerable decrease in scheduled hospitalizations. Nevertheless, proactive public policy focused on the prevention of PE in all patients should be encouraged.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-021-01887-6.

SUBMITTER: Tankere P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8605779 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPulmonary embolism (PE) is an important complication of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 is associated with respiratory impairment and a pro-coagulative state, rendering PE more likely and difficult to recognize. Several decision algorithms relying on clinical features and D-dimer have been established. High prevalence of PE and elevated Ddimer in patients with COVID-19 might impair the performance of common decision algorithms. Here, we aimed to validate and compare five common decision algorithms implementing age adjusted Ddimer, the GENEVA, and Wells scores as well as the PEGeD- and YEARS-algorithms in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.MethodsIn this single center study, we included patients who were admitted to our tertiary care hospital in the COVID-19 Registry of the LMU Munich. We retrospectively selected patients who received a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) or pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy (V/Q) for suspected PE. The performances of five commonly used diagnostic algorithms (age-adjusted D-dimer, GENEVA score, PEGeD-algorithm, Wells score, and YEARS-algorithm) were compared.ResultsWe identified 413 patients with suspected PE who received a CTPA or V/Q confirming 62 PEs (15%). Among them, 358 patients with 48 PEs (13%) could be evaluated for performance of all algorithms. Patients with PE were older and their overall outcome was worse compared to patients without PE. Of the above five diagnostic algorithms, the PEGeD- and YEARS-algorithms performed best, reducing diagnostic imaging by 14% and 15% respectively with a sensitivity of 95.7% and 95.6%. The GENEVA score was able to reduce CTPA or V/Q by 32.2% but suffered from a low sensitivity (78.6%). Age-adjusted D-dimer and Wells score could not significantly reduce diagnostic imaging.ConclusionThe PEGeD- and YEARS-algorithms outperformed other tested decision algorithms and worked well in patients admitted with COVID-19. These findings need independent validation in a prospective study.

Project description:PurposeTo evaluate pulmonary embolism (PE) prevalence at CT pulmonary angiography in patients testing positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and factors associated with PE severity.Materials and methodsA retrospective, single-center study evaluated 62 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 who underwent CT pulmonary angiography between March 13 and April 5, 2020. Another 62-patient cohort who underwent CT pulmonary angiography before the first reported local COVID-19 case was retrospectively selected. The relative rate of CT pulmonary angiography positivity was recorded. For the COVID-19 positive cohort, comorbidities, laboratory values, clinical outcome, and venous thrombosis of the patients were recorded. Two thoracic radiologists assessed embolic severity using the Mastora system and evaluated right heart strain. Factors associated with PE and arterial obstruction severity were evaluated by using statistical analysis. A P value < .05 was considered significant.ResultsOf the patients testing positive for COVID-19, 37.1% had PE, higher than 14.5% of pre-COVID-19 patients (P = .007). d-dimer levels closest to CT pulmonary angiography date correlated with the Mastora obstruction score. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified optimal sensitivity (95%) and specificity (71%) for PE diagnosis at 1394 ng/mL d-dimer units. The mean d-dimer level was 1774 ng/mL and 6432 ng/mL d-dimer units in CT pulmonary angiography-negative and CT pulmonary angiography-positive subgroups, respectively (P < .001). One additional patient with negative results at CT pulmonary angiography had deep venous thrombosis, thus resulting in 38.7% with PE or deep venous thrombosis, despite 40% receiving prophylactic anticoagulation. Other factors did not demonstrate significant PE association.ConclusionA total of 37.1% of COVID-19 patients underwent CT pulmonary angiographic examinations diagnosing PE. PE can be a cause of decompensation in patients testing positive for COVID-19, and d-dimer can be used to stratify patients in terms of PE risk and severity.Supplemental material is available for this article.© RSNA, 2020.