Key result
Shortness of breath marks ~65% of pulmonary embolism cases alongside chest pain and atypical presentations.
Why the study?
To retrospectively identify demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, risk factors, comorbidities, laboratory findings, and radiological results of emergency department patients with pulmonary embolism.
Observational (n=37)
No
Pulmonary embolism may present with atypical symptoms in the emergency department, necessitating clinical suspicion even when classic signs are absent.
May warrant broad suspicion for PE despite atypical symptoms; leaves open validation in larger prospective cohorts.
Aim: The objective of this study is to retrospectively identify the demographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism in the emergency department, aiming to provide clinicians with new perspectives on the diagnosis of the disease.For this purpose, the clinical symptoms, risk factors, comorbid diseases, laboratory findings, and radiological results in those patients were detected.Material and Methods: This single-center, retrospective, and observational study consisted of patients older than 18 years of age who presented to the emergency service with various complaints and were subsequently diagnosed with PE.Medical records, radiological results, and laboratory findings of the patients were documented for this research.Results: A total of 37 cases were included in this study, with ages ranging from 25 to 89 (mean 66.24 ± 17.10).When evaluated based on the clinical symptoms, the most observed complaints were shortness of breath (n=24; 64.9%) and chest pain (n=16; 43.2%).The most frequently observed comorbidities were hypertension and diabetes, which were detected in 15 patients (40.5%) and 11 patients (29.7%), respectively.Discussion: The findings of the present study revealed that in addition to typical clinical findings, PE may present with atypical symptoms that are not specific to the disease.In this context, the diagnosis of PE should not only be considered in the presence of typical symptoms but also taken into account when atypical symptoms that are not specific to PE exist.
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Kerimoğlu et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Pulmonary embolism (n=37). Pulmonary embolism was evaluated on Clinical symptoms and risk factors. In 37 patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism, the most common symptoms were shortness of breath (64.9%) and chest pain (43.2%), highlighting the presence of both typical and atypical presentations.
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