Assessment of Clinical Features and Related Risk Factors in Patients with Pulmonary Embolism in a Tertiary Teaching Center

Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a common and potentially life-threatening disease with manifestations similar to many other diseases, including myocardial infarction, pericarditis, myocarditis, and pneumonia. The present study aimed to assess clinical symptoms, some paraclinical parameters, and related risk factors in patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism.

In this retrospective study, the data of 709 patients who were admitted to Dr. Shariati Research and Treatment Center with confirmed diagnosis of PTE were examined over a period of three years.

The mean age of patients was 56.48±17.84 years, and 47.2% of participants were female. The most common signs and symptoms were dyspnea (87.9), tachycardia (52.6%), and cough (41.9%), respectively. The most common comorbidities in the subjects entailed malignancy (51.1%), postoperative immobility (42%), and pneumonia (41.2%), respectively. Based on logistic regression analyses, congestive heart failure (CHF) followed by diabetes mellitus (DM) were the most common comorbidities associated with various clinical features of PTE. Moreover, clinical manifestations displayed some associations with electrocardiography (EKG) changes and venous blood gas (VBG) indices.

Despite its highly nonspecific clinical manifestations, the diagnosis of PTE remains a challenging issue. This study presented related signs and symptoms, clinical risk factors, comorbidities, and PTE-related EKG changes, which will help physicians properly approach and diagnose this life-threatening disease by considering all aspects.