Key result
Among 17,718 hospitalized VTE patients, the ED was the primary entry point for 31.2% of cases, with a median hospital stay of 9 days and 18.8% discharged within 48 hours of ED admission.
Why the study?
Although new guidelines and direct oral anticoagulants facilitate early discharge for most DVT and non-severe PE patients, the distribution and care pathway of hospitalized VTE patients throughout the hospital had not been mapped.
Cross-Sectional (n=17,718)
Yes
This study maps the hospital care pathways of VTE patients, revealing that despite guidelines supporting early discharge, many patients still require inpatient management with a median stay of 9 days.
Many VTE patients still require prolonged inpatient care despite early-discharge guidelines; leaves open need for optimized dedicated pathways in routine practice.
BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is a potentially fatal disease with a multifactorial nature, impacting different medical and surgical specialties. Recently, new guidelines and direct oral anticoagulants facilitated early discharge for most DVT patients and non-severe PE patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to illustrate the distribution of VTE patients throughout the hospital and map their care pathway from Emergency Department (ED) to hospital discharge. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cross-sectional study included all hospitalized patients with a VTE code from 39 hospitals between 2018 and 2019. Data were analysed using JupyterLab, with subgroup analyses based on mode of entry, diagnosis location and thrombosis site. RESULTS: A total of 23,199 hospitalizations were analysed, involving 17,718 patients a median age 66 years [52-78] and man-to-women ratio 1.05. Among these, 10,747(46.3%) had PE and 4176(18.0%) had lower limb DVT. The ED was the primary entry point for 31.2% of cases, followed by gastroenterology, surgery, geriatrics, and internal medicine. Patients admitted through ED patients were most frequently transferred to internal medicine, cardiovascular and intensive care units (ICU). The median hospital stay was 9 days [4-21], with ICU stays being the longest (mean 15 days [8-27]). Notably, 1357 patients (18.8%) of VTE patients were discharged within 48 h of ED admission. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to portray the distribution and care pathways of VTE patients across hospital departments. Despite recent clinical guidelines, many patients still require inpatient management, highlighting the need for dedicated care pathway.
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Mahé et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in Venous thromboembolism (VTE) (n=17,718). Venous thromboembolism was evaluated on Distribution of VTE patients throughout the hospital and care pathway mapping. Among 17,718 hospitalized VTE patients, the ED was the primary entry point for 31.2% of cases, with a median hospital stay of 9 days and 18.8% discharged within 48 hours of ED admission.
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