Mortality Reaches 20% for Hospitalized Patients With High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism
Mortality rates were high among patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE), with the worst outcomes in those with hemodynamic collapse, according to a retrospective analysis of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) Consortium Registry. In nearly 5,800 patients, in-hospital mortality occurred over five times more frequently among those with high-risk PE compared with those with […]
High-Sensitivity Troponin Test May Overestimate Risk in PE
For patients with hemodynamically stable pulmonary embolism (PE), there was no prognostic value found for the mild elevations in cardiac troponin captured only on high-sensitivity assays at the emergency room, based on an exploratory analysis of the PROTECT cohort study. Whereas a finding of conventional cardiac troponin I (cTnI) elevation was associated with a complicated […]
High-Sensitivity Troponin Test May Overestimate Risk in PE
For patients with hemodynamically stable pulmonary embolism (PE), there was no prognostic value found for the mild elevations in cardiac troponin captured only on high-sensitivity assays at the emergency room, based on an exploratory analysis of the PROTECT cohort study. Whereas a finding of conventional cardiac troponin I (cTnI) elevation was associated with a complicated […]
Surveillance Still Not an Option for Many With Subsegmental Pulmonary Embolism
Only a narrow pool of outpatients with acute subsegmental pulmonary embolism (PE) may be candidates for structured surveillance without anticoagulation based on current guideline restrictions, a retrospective study found. At one large integrated health system, only one person out of 229 low-risk adults received structured surveillance for subsegmental PE — a “remarkably low” 0.4% over […]
Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis Promising for Intermediate-Risk Pulmonary Embolism
A modified reperfusion protocol for intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) seemed to work without causing excessive bleeding in the small randomized CANARY trial. Use of conventional catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) with alteplase led to 4.3% of patients showing right ventricular (RV) recovery at 3 months (in terms of echocardiographic RV/LV ratios >0.9), which was numerically, but not […]
Physician Group Releases Guidance on Cardiovascular Issues in Long COVID
Risks for cardiovascular complications, including pulmonary embolism, arterial and venous thromboses, myocardial infarction, and stroke, are higher in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), or long COVID, highlighting the need for greater awareness of these conditions among clinicians, according to a consensus statement released by the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R). […]