Symptoms, location and prognosis of pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common disease with variable symptoms and high overall mortality. The clinical relevance of the extent of PE is still debatable, and the role of anticoagulation in patients with subsegmental involvement has been contested. Our objective is to describe the clinical details of patients with PE in our hospital and to analyze their prognosis based on the extent of the disease.

Retrospective study of 313 patients diagnosed with PE by chest computed tomography (CT) scan at the Hospital Complex of Pontevedra in Spain for six years. Predictors of mortality were determined by multivariate analysis.

Women accounted for 56% of patients, and patient median age was 70 years (interquartile range 53-78 years). Subsegmental PE accounted for 7% of all cases; these patients were younger and had lower comorbidity; they reported chest pain more often, performed better in blood gas analysis and none of them had proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Patients with subsegmental PE had a higher survival rate. Factors independently associated with mortality were cancer diagnosis and higher comorbidity.

Patients with subsegmental PE clinically differ from those with more proximal PE. Underlying diseases have more influence on the prognosis than the extent of the disease.