Clinical characteristics of a case series of patients with positive CT angiography for pulmonary embolism in an emergency department in Cali, Colombia

Características clínicas de una serie de casos de pacientes con angiotomografía positiva para embolismo pulmonar en un servicio de urgencias en Cali, Colombia

Introduction Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is the obstruction that occurs in the pulmonary artery or one of its branches due to an embolus or thrombus that predominantly originates in the lower extremities. It continues to be a frequent reason for admission to the emergency department. However, the specific clinical characteristics in the emergency department are not well described and are sometimes underdiagnosed, resulting in high mortality rates. Objective: This study aimed to describe the most common clinical characteristics of patients who present spontaneously to the emergency department of a high-complexity institution in the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia, and are diagnosed with PTE using chest angiotomography.

Materials and Methods Signs, symptoms, and risk factors were described in a descriptive case series of patients over 18 years of age who consulted the emergency department with imaging evidence of PTE. Pregnant patients and patients from services other than emergency were excluded. Bivariate analysis was performed using proportions, frequencies, means, medians, and standard deviation. This study has received ethical approval from the research ethics committee. Results and Discussion Tachycardia and tachypnea continue to be the most frequent signs for suspecting PTE, and dyspnea remains the most common symptom, along with chest pain, in the emergency department. Regarding risk factors, obesity is the most prevalent risk factor for PTE in our study, unlike deep vein thrombosis, which is the most common risk factor.