title: Vena Caval Filter Utilization and Outcomes in Pulmonary Embolism: Medicare Hospitalizations From 1999 to 2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inferior vena caval filters (IVCFs) may prevent recurrent pulmonary embolism (PE). Despite uncertainty about their net benefit, patterns of use and outcomes of these devices in contemporary practice are unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors determined the trends in utilization rates and outcomes of IVCF placement in patients with PE and explored regional variations in use in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a national cohort study of all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries ≥65 years of age with principal discharge diagnoses of PE between 1999 and 2010, rates of IVCF placement per 100,000 beneficiary-years and per 1,000 patients with PE were determined. The 30-day and 1-year mortality rates after IVCF placement were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 556,658 patients hospitalized with PE, 94,427 underwent IVCF placement. Between 1999 and 2010, the number of PE hospitalizations with IVCF placement increased from 5,003 to 8,928, representing an increase in the rate per 100,000 beneficiary-years from 19.0 to 32.5 (p < 0.001 for both). As the total number of PE hospitalizations increased (from 31,746 in 1999 to 54,392 in 2010), the rate of IVCF placement per 1,000 PE hospitalizations did not change significantly (from 157.6 to 164.1, p = 0.11). Results were consistent across demographic subgroups, although IVCF use was higher in blacks and patients ≥85 years of age. IVCF utilization varied widely across regions, with the highest rate in the South Atlantic region and the lowest rate in the Mountain region.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a period of increasing PE hospitalizations among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, IVCF placement increased as utilization rates in patients with PE remained greater than 15%. Mortality associated with PE hospitalizations is declining, regardless of IVCF use.
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Behnood
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bikdeli
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Karl E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Minges
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Nihar R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Section of General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Mayur M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Missouri; University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Spertus
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
authors.forename: Frederick A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Masoudi
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Brahmajee K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Nallamothu
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Samuel Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Goldhaber
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut; Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut. Electronic address: harlan.krumholz@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Harlan M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Krumholz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018588:Fee-for-Service Plans / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016306:Vena Cava Filters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: deep vein thrombosis; mortality; trends