Objective To explorer the application value of the inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) implantation in the prevention of recurrent pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods Clinical data of 265 inpatients with PE admitted from November 2014 to November 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into an IVCF treatment group (55 cases) and an anticoagulant therapy group (210 cases) according to treatment measure. All patients were followed up for 3 months to 2 years through regular review. The one-year PE and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) recurrence rates, one-year mortality and two-year mortality were compared between two groups. Results The PE and DVT recurrence rates were 9.1% and 21.8% in the IVCF treatment group, and were 18.6% and 11.0% in the anticoagulant therapy group, respectively. The PE recurrence rate was lower and the DVT recurrence rate was higher in the IVCF treatment group compared with the anticoagulant therapy group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The one-year mortality (29.1% vs. 12.9%) and two-year mortality (34.5% vs. 14.8%) were significantly higher in the IVCF treatment group than those in the anticoagulant therapy group (P<0.05). Conclusions IVCF without anticoagulation can reduce incidence of pulmonary embolism caused by the lower extremity DVT, but will increase DVT recurrence rate. It may be an alternative option for prevention of PE in patients with contraindications to anticoagulant therapy or recurrent PE patients after regular anticoagulant therapy.
Objective To explore the causal association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Methods Using the summary statistical data from the FinnGen biological sample library and IEU OpenGWAS database, the relationship between OSA and VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, was explored through Mendelian randomization (MR) method, with inverse variance weighted (IVW) as the main analysis method. Results The results of univariate MR analysis using IVW method showed that OSA was associated with VTE and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.204 (1.067, 1.351) and 1.352 (1.179, 1.544), respectively. There was no correlation with DVT (P>0.05). Multivariate MR analysis showed that after adjustment for confounding factors (smoking, diabetes, obesity and cancer), OSA was associated with VTE, DVT and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.168 (1.053, 1.322), 1.247 (1.064, 1.491) and 1.158 (1.021, 1.326), respectively. Conclusion OSA increases the risk of VTE, DVT, and pulmonary embolism.
Objective To investigate the prognostic value of troponin I ( cTNI) , brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP) and D-dimer in acute pulmonary embolism ( APE) .Methods The plasma levels of cTNI, BNP, and D-dimer were measured in 98 consecutive patients with APE at the time of admission. The relationship between these parameters and mortality were evaluated. Results APE was diagnosed in 98 consecutive patients during January 2009 to December 2010, in which 49 were males and 49 were females. 14 ( 14. 3% ) patients died at the end of follow-up. The patients with positive cTNI tests had more rapid heart rates, higher rate of syncope, cardiogenic shock and mortality than the patients with normal serumcTNI. However the age and blood pressure were lower in the patients with abnormal serum cTNI ( P lt; 0. 05) . A receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis identified BNP≥226. 5 ng/L was the best cut-off value ( AUC 0. 829, 95% CI 0. 715-0. 942) with the negative predictive value of 97. 1% for death. The mortality of the patients whose serum D-dimer level ranging from 500 to 2499 ng/mL, 2500 to 4999 ng/mL, and ≥5000 ng/mL was 7. 8% , 12% , and 41. 2% , respectively ( P = 0. 009) . Upon multivariate analysis, cardiogenic shock ( OR=2. 931, 95% CI 0. 828-12. 521, P =0.000) , cTNI≥0. 3 ng/mL ( OR=1. 441, 95% CI 0. 712-4. 098, P = 0. 0043) , BNP gt; 226. 5 ng/L ( OR = 1. 750, 95% CI 0. 690-6. 452, P = 0. 011) and D-dimer≥5000 ng/mL( OR = 1. 275, 95% CI 0. 762-2. 801, P = 0. 034) were independent predictors of death. Conclusions Combined monitoring of cTNI, BNP or D-dimer levels is helpful for prognosis prediction and treatment decision for APE patients.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment of fungal pulmonary embolism, and to improve the understanding of this disease. Methods The diagnosis and treatment of two patients with fungal main pulmonary embolism in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were summarized and analyzed. Literatures were retrieved from Wanfang database, China national knowledge internet database and Pubmed database with search terms of “pulmonary embolism AND mucor”, “pulmonary embolism AND aspergillus”, “pulmonary embolism AND fungi”, “pulmonary embolism AND Candida”, “pulmonary embolism AND cryptococcus”. Results Case 1, a 53-year-old female was referred, with cough, high fever, breathlessness for 2 years, chest pain for 1 year. The patient had rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus history with long term prednisone treatment. Finally, the patient was diagnosed main pulmonary artery embolism (aspergillus) and disseminated aspergillosis. Although treatment with voriconazole, amphotericin B, and caspofungin were given for more than 1 year, the patient died with uncontrolled aspergillus infection. Case 2, a 67-year-old female was referred with cough, chest distress, chest pain for 8 months, breathlessness for 6 months. The patient had a history of chronic viral hepatitis C. Finally the patient was diagnosed as main pulmonary artery embolism and pulmonary valve endocarditis (aspergillus, mucor). The patient underwent pulmonary artery lesion resection and tricuspid valvuloplasty (DeVega method). After surgery, the patient was delivered with amphotericin B and posaconazole for 3 months. During the follow-up period of 1 year, the patient recovered almost totally without relapse signs. A total of 42 cases of fungal pulmonary embolism from 1980 to 2021 were retrieved (including 2 cases in this article), and 6 of these cases were main pulmonary artery embolism. Of all the cases, the median age was 49 years and 22 (54.3%) were males. 20 cases were immunocompromised. The infection pathogens included: Aspergillus (21, 50%), Candida (11, 26.2%), Mucor (7, 16.7%), and Aspergillus combined with Mucor (1, 2.5%), Coccidioides spp (1, 2.5%), and Cryptococcus (1, 2.5%). Fifteen cases were complicated with infection other than cardiopulmonary. Twenty-two cases were treated with surgery combined with antifungal medicine, and 9 cases with antifungal medicine alone. Twenty-two cases were dead and the overall mortality rate was 52.4%. There were statistically significant differences in the effects of fungal species, dissemination of other organs other than the heart and lung, and surgical treatment on the survival rate. The survival rate of different fungal species was significantly different. Dissemination to organs other than the heart and lungs reduces survival, whereas surgical treatment improves survival. Conclusions Fungal pulmonary embolism, a disease with high mortality, rarely involves the main pulmonary artery. The possibility of fungal pulmonary embolism should be considered when the cause of pulmonary thrombosis is unknown and the anticoagulant effect is poor. Although there is no unified treatment at present, early surgical combined with standard antifungal treatment may improve the prognosis of patients.
ObjectiveTo discuss the implantation and conversion technology of convertible inferior vena cava filter and the experience of management.MethodsThe clinical data of 115 patients with convertible inferior vena cava filter implantation admitted to our vascular surgery center from January 2018 to December 2018 was retrospectively analyzed.ResultsAmong the 115 patients with convertible inferior vena cava filter implantation, 74 were males and 41 were females. The ages ranged from 22 to 87 years, with median age 54 years. The successful rate of filter implantation was 100% without any surgical related complications. After implantation surgery, patients were followed up from 4 to 455 days with a median of 90 days and the recurrence rate of adverse events was 7.8% (9/115). The recurrence time were 16 to 104 days after conversion, with a median of 42 days. Twenty-three patients (20.0%) received filter conversion, one of them failed and all the others succeeded. The technical successful rate was 95.7% (22/23). The conversion operative time was 22.8 to 51.4 min, with median time 27.4 min. The intervals between implantation and conversion were from 4 to 455 days, with median time 159 days. Accessory techniques were used in 20 of 22 successful filter conversions and the application rate of accessory technique was 90.9%. The patients were followed-up from 30 to 180 days after conversion with a median time of 90 days and no adverse event was reported.ConclusionConvertible inferior vena cava filter is a significant choice for patients application of inferior vena cava filter due to its high safety of conversion surgery, technical success rate and possibility of conversion after long-term indwelling.
Objective To compare the prognostic value of different types of simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE), so as to select the best scoring system for clinical application. Methods We retrospectively collected the data of consecutive patients with APE in the Fourth People’s Hospital of Zigong City from January 1st, 2014 to January 1st, 2019. The endpoint was 1-month all-cause mortality. We tried to modify sPESI by replacing arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation with arterial partial pressure of oxygen / fraction of inspired oxygen (new scoring system named psPESI), and modify sPESI by replacing arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation with saturation of pulse oxygen / fraction of inspired oxygen (new scoring system named ssPESI), and analyzed the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), calibration and decision curve. Results A total of 280 patients (109 with low-risk APE, 155 with intermediate-risk APE, and 16 with high-risk APE) were enrolled in the study. Of these patients, 165 (58.93%) were male, and the 1-month all-cause mortality rate was 10.71% (30/280). The AUCs of sPESI, psPESI and ssPESI were 0.756, 0.822 and 0.807, respectively, and the AUC of ssPESI was higher than that of sPESI (P=0.038) but not lower than that of psPESI (P=0.388). Comparing ssPESI with sPESI, the NRI was 0.928 (P<0.001) and the IDI was 0.084 (P<0.001); comparing ssPESI with psPESI, the NRI was 0.041 (P=0.227) and the IDI was –0.028 (P=0.060). The psPESI (Hosmer-Lemeshow test χ2=12.591, P=0.182) and ssPESI (Hosmer-Lemeshow test χ2=4.204, P=0.897) were well-calibrated in the internal validation cohort and obtained more net benefits within wide threshold probabilities than sPESI. Conclusion Since the saturation of pulse oxygen is non-invasive and easy to obtain, and the predictive ability of ssPESI is similar to that of psPESI, it is recommended that ssPESI be used as a new scoring system to evaluate the prognosis of APE.
Objective To investigate the value of fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) combined with pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) in the assessment of severity and prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE). Methods A retrospective study of hospitalized patients with confirmed APTE admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from September 2013 to August 2021, divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk groups according to the Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Pulmonary Thromboembolism, and divided into survival groups and death groups according to the 30-day prognosis. The general data of all patients and relevant blood laboratory tests within 2 hours after admission were collected to calculate PESI and FAR. FAR and PESI levels were compared in APTE patients with different severity of disease and different prognosis. Independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in APTE patients were analyzed using logistic regression. Subject working characteristic curves were drawn to assess the differences in sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve of FAR, PESI and FAR combined with PESI in predicting 30-day death. Results Total of 235 APTE patients were included, divided into 85 in the low-risk group, 110 in the intermediate-risk group, and 40 in the high-risk group; 192 in the survival group and 43 in the death group according to 30-day survival. The differences in age, albumin (ALB), high-sensitivity troponin, D-dimer, fibrinogen (FIB), FAR, and PESI of APTE patients with different disease severity were statistically significant (P<0.05). FAR increased progressively with increasing severity of disease (P<0.05), and correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between FAR and PESI (r=0.614, P<0.05). Elevated FIB, FAR, PESI and decreased ALB were independent risk factors for 30-day death in patients with APTE (P<0.05). FAR, PESI, and FAR combined with PESI all had predictive value for 30-day death in APTE patients, and FAR combined with PESI predicted the largest area under the 30-day death curve. Conclusions FAR correlated with the severity and prognosis of APTE patients. FAR combined with PESI was more valuable in assessing the 30-day prognosis of APTE patients than FAR alone or PESI alone.
Aortic intramural hematoma and pulmonary embolism are two rapidly progressive and life-threatening diseases. A 65-year-old male patient with descending aortic intramural hematoma and pulmonary embolism underwent pulmonary embolectomy and descending aortic stent-graft placement, with good postoperative results.
Objective To describe the clinical profiles of cardiac arrest due to fatal pulmonary embolism (FPE), and review the literature on FPE diagnosis and treatment. Methods The clinical profiles of two cases with cardiac arrest for FPE were presented. A systematic search of Medline (1950 - 2014) and EMbase (1980-2014) was conducted to identify studies that investigated the use of thrombolytic medications to treat cardiac arrest for FPE. Results The fatal event of two patients occurred after surgery. Both of them survived with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and administration of thrombolysis and anticoagulation, but one of them had major bleeding during anticoagulation. Six articles were found involving 72473 cases of cardiac arrest due to pulmonary embolism (PE) or unstable massive PE. The thrombolytic agents were recombinant tissue plasminogen activator or streptokinase, but the administration and dose of thrombolytic agents were unclear. Overall, administration of thrombolytics can shorten the time to return of spontaneous circulation and improve the survival rate. There was, however, an increased risk of bleeding events following administration of thrombolytics. Conclusions Because of the high mortality of cardiac arrest for FPE, the clinician should correctly identify patients with a high likelihood of FPE. Early use of thrombolytics is very important and can potentially improve patient outcomes.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE), comprising both deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, is a chronic illness that contributes significantly to the global burden of disease. The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) published the 9th edition of antithrombotic treatment guidelines for VTE (AT9) in 2012, which was first updated in 2016. In October 2021, ACCP published the 2nd update to AT9, which addressed 17 clinical questions related to VTE and presented 29 guidance statements in total. In this paper we interpreted the recommendations proposed in this update of the guidelines.