Long-term follow-up after acute pulmonary embolism - impact of markers of acute prognosis

Abstract Background and aims Although syncope (S) has been reported as one of the presenting findings in patients (pts) with acute pulmonary embolism (APE), its clinical and haemodynamic correlates and impacts on the long-term outcome in this setting remains to be determined. In this single-centre study we evaluated the clinical and haemodynamic significance of S in APE in initial asessment, and during short- and long-term follow-up period. Methods Our study was based on the retrospective and prospective analysis of the overall 641 pts (age 65 (51–74 IQR) yrs, 56.2% female) with diagnosis of documented APE who underwent anticoagulant (n=207), thrombolytic (n=164), utrasound-facilitated thrombolysis (UFT) (n=218) or rheolytic thrombectomy (RT) (n=52). The systematic work- up including multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), Echo, biomarkers, and PE severity indexes were performed in all pts, and Qanadli score (QS) was used as the measure of the thrombotic burden in the pulmonary arteries (PA). Results The S as the presenting symptom In 30.2% of pts with APE. At baseline assessment, S(+) vs S(−) APE subgroups had a significantly shorter symptom-diagnosis interval, a higher risk status according to the significant elevations in troponin T, D-dimer, the higher PE severity indexes, a more deteriorated right ventricle/left ventricle ratio (RV/LV r), right atrial/left atrial ratio (LA/RAr) and RV longitudinal function indexes including tricuspid annular planary excursion (TAPSE) and tissue velocity (St), a significantly higher PA obstructive burden as assessed by QS and PA pressures. Thrombolytic therapy (36.2% vs 21%, p<0.001) and RT (11.9% vs 6.47%, p=0.037) were more frequently utilized S(+) as compared to S(−) group. However, all these differences between two subgroups were found to disappear after evidence-based APE treatments. In-hospital mortality (IHM) (12.95% vs 6%, p=0.007) and minor bleeding (10.36% vs 2.9%, p<0.001) were significantly higher in S(+) pts as compared to those in S(−) subgroup. Binominal logistic regression analysis revealed that PESI score and RV/LVr independently associated with S while IHM was only predicted by age and heart rate. The COX proportional hazard method showed that RV/LVr at discharge and malignancy were independently associated with cumulative mortality during follow-up duration of 620 (200–1170 IQ) days. Conclusions The presence of S in pts with APE was found to be asociated with a higher PA obstructive burden, a more deteriorated RV function and haemodynamics and higher risk status which may need more agressive reperfusion treatments. However, in the presence of the optimal treatments, S did not predict neither in-hospital outcome, nor long-term mortality. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

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Joint analysis of D-dimer, N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide, and cardiac troponin I on predicting acute pulmonary embolism relapse and mortality

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94346-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoyu Liu ◽

Liying Zheng ◽

Jing Han ◽

Lu Song ◽

Hemei Geng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pulmonary Embolism ◽

Survival Rate ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Acute Pulmonary Embolism ◽

Troponin I ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Long Term Prognosis ◽

D Dimer

AbstractPrevious studies on the adverse events of acute pulmonary embolism (APE) were mostly limited to single marker, and short follow-up duration, from hospitalization to up to 30 days. We aimed to predict the long-term prognosis of patients with APE by joint assessment of D-dimer, N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-ProBNP), and troponin I (cTnI). Newly diagnosed patients of APE from January 2011 to December 2015 were recruited from three hospitals. Medical information of the patients was collected retrospectively by reviewing medical records. Adverse events (APE recurrence and all-cause mortality) of all enrolled patients were followed up via telephone. D-dimer > 0.50 mg/L, NT-ProBNP > 500 pg/mL, and cTnI > 0.40 ng/mL were defined as the abnormal. Kaplan–Meier curve was used to compare the cumulative survival rate between patients with different numbers of abnormal markers. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to further test the association between numbers of abnormal markers and long-term prognosis of patients with APE after adjusting for potential confounding. During follow-up, APE recurrence and all-cause mortality happened in 78 (30.1%) patients. The proportion of APE recurrence and death in one abnormal marker, two abnormal markers, and three abnormal markers groups were 7.69%, 28.21%, and 64.10% respectively. Patients with three abnormal markers had the lowest survival rate than those with one or two abnormal markers (Log-rank test, P < 0.001). After adjustment, patients with two or three abnormal markers had a significantly higher risk of the total adverse event compared to those with one abnormal marker. The hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) were 6.27 (3.24, 12.12) and 10.7 (4.1, 28.0), respectively. Separate analyses for APE recurrence and all-cause death found similar results. A joint test of abnormal D-dimer, NT-ProBNP, and cTnI in APE patients could better predict the long-term risk of APE recurrence and all-cause mortality.

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