[Clinical, laboratory and computed tomography pulmonary angiography results in pulmonary embolism: retrospective evaluation of 205 patients].
OBJECTIVE
With this study, we aimed at evaluating demographic data, clinical, laboratory findings in pulmonary embolism (PE) and the relationship of these findings with the embolism location region and responses of the patients to the treatment of the embolism in order to contribute to the patient management in decreasing mortality.


METHODS
Clinical findings, accompanying diseases, risk factors, serum D-dimer and creatinine levels, imaging modalities and mortality rates of 205 patients (female: 98, male: 107) diagnosed with PE were examined retrospectively. The relationship between the qualifier variables was evaluated using Chi-square test.


RESULTS
Average age of the patients was 61.55±14.44 years and 86 (42%) patients were above 65 years. Most common complaint was dyspnea (85%), most frequent coexisting disease was congestive heart failure (19%). Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (30.7%) was the most frequently seen risk factor. Pulmonary embolism was mostly in the right lobe pulmonary artery (32.1%). It was observed that the higher ages of patients the more frequency of proximal located embolism was (p<0.005), especially lobar artery involvement was observed to be high (p=0.032). An early mortality rate was 4.9% and late mortality rate was 11.2%.


CONCLUSIONS
In the patients with complaint of dyspnea who are at elder ages and have accompanying diseases, PE should be considered. PE is generally localized in the main pulmonary arteries, which emphasizes crucial importance of early diagnosis and treatment in reduction of mortality.
Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Göğüs Hastalıkları Kliniği, Ankara-Turkey. akcalis@hotmail.com
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Ardıç
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D015415:Biomarkers; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D; D003404:Creatinine