Incidence of acute pulmonary embolism in a general hospital: relation to age, sex, and race.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the incidence of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) according to age, sex, and race in a tertiary care general hospital.


BACKGROUND
Population-based investigations and autopsy studies have shown that acute PE occurs predominantly in middle-aged and elderly people. The incidence of PE according to age, race, and sex in a general hospital has been only sparsely studied.


METHODS
Patients with PE diagnosed by a high-probability ventilation/perfusion lung scan or pulmonary angiography were identified in a tertiary care general hospital. The incidence of PE was determined according to age, sex, and race.


RESULTS
The incidence of PE was 400 of 175,730 (0.23%; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.25%). The incidence was linearly related to age (r = 0.94). Among patients >/= 50 years of age, the incidence of PE was higher among women (0.40% vs 0.29%; p < 0.01). The incidence was comparable among patients < 50 years of age. African Americans showed an incidence of 0.26%, and whites showed an incidence of 0. 21% (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Acute PE in a tertiary care hospital is more frequent than previously reported among short-term hospitals. Occasionally, young adults and adolescents had PE, although PE occurred primarily among middle-aged and elderly patients. Among patients >/= 50 years of age, the incidence of PE was higher among women. The incidence was not higher among women < 50 years of age, suggesting that childbirth and birth control pills had little impact. Only a trivial difference of the incidence of PE was observed among African Americans compared to whites.
Stein
P D
PD
Henry Ford Heart and Vascular Institute, Detroit, MI. pstein1@hfhs.org
Huang
H l
Hl
Afzal
A
A
Noor
H A
HA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American