Adverse Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Acute Low-risk Pulmonary Embolism and Concerning Computed Tomography Imaging Findings

Optimizing Use of High-Sensitivity Troponin for Risk-Stratification of Acute Pulmonary Embolism

BACKGROUND

 High-sensitivity troponin T (HS-TnT) may improve risk-stratification in hemodynamically stable acute pulmonary embolism (PE), but an optimal strategy for combining this biomarker with clinical risk-stratification tools has not been determined.

STUDY HYPOTHESIS

 We hypothesized that different HS-TnT cutoff values may be optimal for identifying (1) low-risk patients who may be eligible for outpatient management and (2) patients at increased risk of clinical deterioration who might benefit from advanced PE therapies.

METHODS

 Retrospective analysis of hemodynamically stable patients in the University of Michigan acute ED-PE registry with available HS-TnT values. Primary and secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality and need for intensive care unit-level care. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine optimal HS-TnT cutoffs in the entire cohort, and for those at higher risk based on the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) or imaging findings.

RESULTS

 The optimal HS-TnT cutoff in the full cohort, 12 pg/mL, was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 3.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.48-10.50) and remained a significant predictor after adjusting for the simplified PESI (sPESI) score and serum creatinine (adjusted OR: 3.05, 95% CI: 1.11-8.38). A HS-TnT cutoff of 87 pg/mL was associated with 30-day mortality (OR: 5.01, 95% CI: 2.08-12.06) in patients with sPESI ≥1 or right ventricular dysfunction.

CONCLUSION

 In this retrospective, single-center study of acute PE patients, we identified distinct optimal HS-TnT values for different clinical uses-a lower cutoff, which identified low-risk patients even in the absence of other risk-stratification methods, and a higher cutoff, which was strongly associated with adverse outcomes in patients at increased risk.

Trends in Discharge Rates for Acute Pulmonary Embolism in U.S. Emergency Departments

BACKGROUND

Outpatient management of select patients with low-risk acute pulmonary embolism (PE) has been proven to be safe and effective, yet recent evidence suggests that patients are still managed with hospitalization. Few studies have assessed contemporary real-world trends in discharge rates from U.S. emergency departments (EDs) for acute PE.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether the proportion of discharges from EDs for acute PE changed between 2012 and 2020 and which baseline characteristics are associated with ED discharge.

DESIGN

Serial cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING

U.S. EDs participating in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

PATIENTS

Patients with ED visits for acute PE between 2012 and 2020.

MEASUREMENTS

National trends in the proportion of discharges for acute PE and factors associated with ED discharge.

RESULTS

Between 2012 and 2020, there were approximately 1 635 300 visits for acute PE. Overall, ED discharge rates remained constant over time, with rates of 38.2% (95% CI, 17.9% to 64.0%) between 2012 and 2014 and 33.4% (CI, 21.0% to 49.0%) between 2018 and 2020 (adjusted risk ratio, 1.01 per year [CI, 0.89 to 1.14]). No baseline characteristics, including established risk stratification scores, were predictive of an increased likelihood of ED discharge; however, patients at teaching hospitals and those with private insurance were more likely to receive oral anticoagulation at discharge. Only 35.9% (CI, 23.9% to 50.0%) of patients who were considered low-risk according to their Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) class, 33.1% (CI, 21.6% to 47.0%) according to simplified PESI score, and 34.8% (CI, 23.3% to 48.0%) according to hemodynamic stability were discharged from the ED setting.

LIMITATIONS

Cross-sectional survey design and inability to adjudicate diagnoses.

CONCLUSION

In a representative nationwide sample, rates of discharge from the ED for acute PE appear to have remained constant between 2012 and 2020. Only one third of low-risk patients were discharged for outpatient management, and rates seem to have stabilized. Outpatient management of low-risk acute PE may still be largely underutilized in the United States.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE

None.

Novel Risk Stratification and Hemodynamic Profiling in Acute Pulmonary Embolism: A Proposed Classification Inspired by Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention Shock Staging

Treatment options for patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and right ventricular shock (RVS) have grown exponentially. Therapy options include anticoagulation, systemic thrombolysis, catheter-based thrombolysis/ thrombectomy, and may include short-term mechanical circulatory support. However, the incidence of short-term morbidity and mortality has not changed despite the emergence of several advanced therapies in acute PE. This is possibly due to the inclusion of heterogenous populations in research studies without differentiation based on the acuity/severity of presentation. We propose a novel classification for PE-RVS to allow for standardizing appropriate therapy escalation and better communication of the severity among cardiovascular critical care, and emergency health care professionals.