Impact of residual pulmonary obstruction on the long-term outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism
Raffaele Pesavento, Lucia Filippi, Antonio Palla, Adriana Visonà, Carlo Bova, Marco Marzolo, Fernando Porro, Sabina Villalta, Maurizio Ciammaichella, Eugenio Bucherini, Giovanni Nante, Sandra Battistelli, Maria Lorenza Muiesan, Giampietro Beltramello, Domenico Prisco, Franco Casazza, Walter Ageno, Gualtiero Palareti, Roberto Quintavalla, Simonetta Monti, Nicola Mumoli, Nello Zanatta, Roberto Cappelli, Marco Cattaneo, Valentino Moretti, Francesco Corà, Mario Bazzan, Angelo Ghirarduzzi, Anna Chiara Frigo, Massimo Miniati, Paolo Prandoni, SCOPE Investigators, Raffaele Pesavento, Lucia Filippi, Antonio Palla, Adriana Visonà, Carlo Bova, Marco Marzolo, Fernando Porro, Sabina Villalta, Maurizio Ciammaichella, Eugenio Bucherini, Giovanni Nante, Sandra Battistelli, Maria Lorenza Muiesan, Giampietro Beltramello, Domenico Prisco, Franco Casazza, Walter Ageno, Gualtiero Palareti, Roberto Quintavalla, Simonetta Monti, Nicola Mumoli, Nello Zanatta, Roberto Cappelli, Marco Cattaneo, Valentino Moretti, Francesco Corà, Mario Bazzan, Angelo Ghirarduzzi, Anna Chiara Frigo, Massimo Miniati, Paolo Prandoni, SCOPE Investigators
Abstract
The impact of residual pulmonary obstruction on the outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism is uncertain.We recruited 647 consecutive symptomatic patients with a first episode of pulmonary embolism, with or without concomitant deep venous thrombosis. They received conventional anticoagulation, were assessed for residual pulmonary obstruction through perfusion lung scanning after 6 months and then were followed up for up to 3 years. Recurrent venous thromboembolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were assessed according to widely accepted criteria.Residual pulmonary obstruction was detected in 324 patients (50.1%, 95% CI 46.2-54.0%). Patients with residual pulmonary obstruction were more likely to be older and to have an unprovoked episode. After a 3-year follow-up, recurrent venous thromboembolism and/or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension developed in 34 out of the 324 patients (10.5%) with residual pulmonary obstruction and in 15 out of the 323 patients (4.6%) without residual pulmonary obstruction, leading to an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.26 (95% CI 1.23-4.16).Residual pulmonary obstruction, as detected with perfusion lung scanning at 6 months after a first episode of pulmonary embolism, is an independent predictor of recurrent venous thromboembolism and/or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01781858.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Copyright ©ERS 2017.
Source: PubMed