Inferior Vena Cava Filters in Stable Patients With Pulmonary Embolism and Heart Failure

Mortality according to the use inferior vena cava (IVC) filters in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) and heart failure (HF) has been sparsely studied. In the present investigation, we assess whether IVC filters in stable patients with PE and HF reduce mortality. This is a retrospective cohort study of administrative data from the Premier Healthcare Database, 2009 through 2015. Patients aged ≥18 years hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of PE and a discharge diagnosis of HF were identified by International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification codes. Exclusions were unstable patients (in shock or on a ventilator), patients who underwent pulmonary embolectomy, and patients with co-morbidities. In-hospital all-cause mortality was 102 of 2,423 (4.2%) with an IVC filter compared with 686 of 14,063 (4.9%) without an IVC filter (p = 0.16). Only patients aged >80 years showed a lower in-hospital all-cause mortality with IVC filters, 38 of 933 (4.1%) with an IVC filter compared with 307 of 4,486 (6.8%) without an IVC filter (p = 0.0012). In conclusion, stable patients with PE and HF, if aged >80 years, showed a reduced in-hospital all-cause mortality with IVC filters.