Prevalence of deep vein thrombosis and its clinical significance in patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Korea
²Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Wonkwang University Hospital, Iksan, Korea

Correspondence

Jae Chol Yoon ,Tel: 063-250-1075, Fax: 063-250-1075, Email: jcyoon75@jbnu.ac.kr,

Received: November 9, 2021; Revised: November 22, 2021 Accepted: November 22, 2021. Published online: December 31, 2021.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and assess the association of concomitant DVT and unfavorable outcomes in patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE).
Method:
We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with acute symptomatic PE by a computed tomography angiography. Study patients were divided into two groups, including unfavorable and favorable outcome groups. Baseline characteristics and radiologic findings were compared between the two groups. Then, binary logistic regression analysis using the unfavorable outcome as a dependent variable was performed to assess whether concomitant DVT was associated with unfavorable outcomes.
Results:
Of the 128 patients, 67.2% (86 of 128) had concomitant DVT, and 20.3% (26 of 128) had an unfavorable outcome. The median age was 75.0 years (interquartile range, 63.0-82.0 years), and 76 (59.4%) patients were female. Concomitant DVT and proximal DVT were associated with unfavorable outcomes (P<0.05). In multivariate analysis, proximal DVT (adjusted odds ratio, 7.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-49.12) was an independent risk factor of unfavorable outcome.
Conclusion:
In patients with acute symptomatic PE, about two-thirds of patients had DVT. This study suggests that proximal DVT is significantly associated with unfavorable outcomes.

Key words: Deep vein thrombosis; Prognosis; Pulmonary embolism