Blood Res.  2021 Dec;56(4):293-300. 10.5045/br.2021.2021131.

The demographic, clinical, and medical manifestations of pulmonary thromboembolism development in COVID-19

• Sadeghi S
• Nasirian M
• Keivany E
• Nasri P
• Mirenayat MS

• KMID: 2524089
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5045/br.2021.2021131

Abstract

Background
Since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), various clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to severe, life-threatening courses have been presented. It is well known that COVID-19 patients are at an increased risk of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) development; however, the associated demographic, medical, and clinical factors for developing PTE remain unknown. The current study aimed to assess the characteristics of patients with PTE.
Methods
This case-control study was derived from an ongoing population-based investigation of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The case group included 99 patients with PTE confirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), and the controls (N=132) were age-matched patients selected from the PTE-suspected patients with a negative CTPA. The demographic, medical, and clinical characteristics of the study population were entered into the study checklist and compared. A logistic regression test was used to determine the factors associated with PTE development.
Results
Among the 13,099 admitted patients, 690 (5.26%) were suspected of having PTE according to their clinical manifestations. CTPA was performed for suspected cases, and PTE was confirmed in 132 patients (19.13%). Logistic regression assessments revealed that male gender (OR, 2.39; 95%CI, 1.38‒4.13), decreased oxygen saturation (OR, 2.33; 95%CI, 1.27‒4.26), and lower hemoglobin (OR, 0.83, 0.95), and albumin (OR, 0.31; 95%CI, 0.18‒0.53) levels were associated with PTE development.
Conclusion
PTE was confirmed in one-fifth of suspected patients who underwent CTPA imaging. Male sex, decreased oxygen saturation, and lower levels of hemoglobin and albumin were independent predictors of PTE in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keyword

COVID-19; Pulmonary embolism; Computed tomography angiography; Coronavirus

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