Clinical Outcomes of Pulmonary Embolism in Mexican Patients With COVID-19

Abstract

Coagulation abnormalities have been reported in COVID-19 patients, which may lead to an increased risk of Pulmonary Embolism (PE). We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients diagnosed with PE during their hospital stay. We analyzed patients with PE and COVID-19 in a tertiary center in Mexico City from April to October of 2020. A total of 26 (100%) patients were diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism and COVID-19. We observed that 14 (54%) patients were receiving either prophylactic or full anticoagulation therapy, before PE diagnosis. We found a significant difference in mortality between the group with less than 7 days (83%) and the group with more than 7 days (15%) in Intensive Care Unit (P =.004); as well as a mean of 8 days for the mortality group compared with 20 days of hospitalization in the survivor group (P =.003). In conclusion, there is an urgent need to review antithrombotic therapy in these patients in order to improve clinical outcomes and decrease hospital overload.