Abstract 13317: Acute Pulmonary Embolism in Covid-19 Patients: Presenting Characteristics, Outcomes and Risk Stratification Strategies

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary Embolism in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have been increasingly reported in observational studies. However, limited knowledge describing their diagnostic features and clinical outcomes exist to date. Our study aims to systemically analyze their clinical characteristics and to investigate strategies for risk stratification. Methods: We retrospectively studied 101 patients with concurrent diagnoses of acute pulmonary embolism and COVID-19 infection, admitted at two tertiary hospitals within the Northwell Health System in New York City area. Clinical features including laboratory and imaging findings, therapeutic interventions, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality and length of stay were recorded. D-dimer values were respectively documented at COVID-19 and PE diagnoses for comparison. Pulmonary Severity Index (PESI) scores were used for risk stratification of clinical outcomes. Results: The most common comorbidities were hypertension (50%), obesity (27%) and hyperlipidemia (32%) among our study cohort. Baseline D-dimer abnormalities (4647.0 ± 8281.8) were noted on admission with a 3-fold increase at the time of PE diagnosis (13288.4 ± 14917.9; p<0.05). 5 (5%) patients required systemic thrombolysis and 12 (12%) patients experienced moderate to severe bleeding. 31 (31%) patients developed acute kidney injury (AKI) and 1 (1%) patient required renal replacement therapy. Throughout hospitalization, 23 (23%) patients were admitted to intensive care units, of which 20 (20%) patients received invasive mechanical ventilation. The overall mortality rate was 20%. Majority of patients (65%) had Intermediate to high risk PESI scores (>85), which portended a worse prognosis with higher mortality rate and length of stay. Conclusions: This study provides characteristics and early outcomes for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and acute pulmonary embolism. D-dimer levels and PESI scores may be utilized to risk stratify and guide management in this patient population. Our results should serve to alert the medical community to heighted vigilance of this VTE complication associated with COVID-19 infection, despite the preliminary and retrospective nature inherent to this study.