Computed tomography pulmonary angiography for detection of pulmonary embolisms in Chinese patients

ObjectiveTo describe the trends in computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) utilization and pulmonary embolism (PE) positivity rate among patients at a tertiary hospital in China between January 2018 and December 2021 and explore the incidence of isolated PE.MethodsA total of 4378 patients who underwent CTPA examinations between January 2018 and December 2021 were included in the study, retrospectively. The demographic characteristics and PE positivity rate of the included population were compared each year. The incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT)-related and isolated PEs and the relationship between the two were explored.ResultsThe mean age of the included patients was 63.0 ± 14.9 years. A total of 1905 (43.5%) patients were male. CTPA showed positive PE results in 901 (20.6%) patients. There was no statistical difference in terms of sex (p = 0.078) and age (p = 0.225) or PE positivity rate (p = 0.393) among the included individuals in each year. DVT-related PE occurred more often, manifested as central (p = 0.003) and multiple (p = 0.007) PE, when compared to isolated PE.ConclusionIn a retrospective study conducted at a tertiary hospital in China, the CTPA positivity rate for PE was 20.6%. There was no statistical difference in the annual PE positivity rate. The clinical features of patients with DVT-related PE were more severe than of those with isolated PE.