Racial and gender disparities in the management of acute pulmonary embolism

The aim of this study was to assess race and sex disparities in use and outcomes of various interventions in patient with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

We included 129,445 patients with acute PE from the NIS from January 2016 to December 2019. Rates of inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement, catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), CDT with ultrasound, systemic thrombolysis, surgical embolectomy, percutaneous thrombectomy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and mechanical ventilation were compared between race and sex subgroups, along with length of hospital stay, major bleeding events, mortality, and other adverse events. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to adjust for variables that were significantly different between race and sex, including demographic factors, comorbidities, socioeconomic factors, and hospital characteristics.

Compared with White male patients, all subgroups had significantly higher odds of in-hospital mortality highest in Hispanic male patients (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.090-1.640; P < .01). All subgroups also had a higher odds of major bleeding events and increased length of stay. All subgroups also had lower odds of receiving CDT, lowest in Black female patients (OR, 0.740; 95% CI, 0.660-0.820; P < .001) and Hispanic female patients (0.780; 95% CI, 0.650-0.940; P < .001) compared with White male patients. There was no significant difference in the use of systemic thrombolysis among subgroups.

Black and Hispanic patients and female patients are less likely to undergo CDT compared with White male patients, in addition to having higher odds of mortality, major bleeding, and increased length of stay after management of PE. Further efforts are needed to mitigate disparate outcomes of PE management at not only an institutional, but at a national, level to promote health care equality.