Incidence of Pulmonary Embolism in Covid-19 Patients

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the blockage of a blood clot in the pulmonary arteries of the lungs. PE is a common phenomenon and requires prompt treatment. Despite advancement in the treatment and diagnosis it has a substantial mortality rate. Recent studies suggest that the novel Covid-19 infection is associated with rising trend of PE. Patients with Covid-19 may be at high risk of complications related to thrombotic condition in the consequences of stasis blood flow and irregular inflammatory response. The main objective of this article is to assess the incidence of PE in covid-19 hospitalized patients. Material and Method: We reviewed more than 160 medical records of the patients admitted to the Coivd-19 ward during the peak of first wave of Covid-19 pandemic. This study was conducted at Saidu Teaching Hospital Swat from June 2020 to Sep 2020in the time frame of 4 months. The real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to diagnose the Covid-19 in the patients and for the PE computed Tomography pulmonary angiogram(CPTA) was used. Results: In this study, 160 patients have participated of which 7 developed PE. This represents that the incidence of PE was 3% among individuals. Conclusion: In the Covid 19 Hospitalized patients Incidence of Pulmonary Embolism is a common phenomenon. For the patients having a high respiratory rate, smoking history, and low level of oxygen preventive measures should be considered. Keywords: Pulmonary Embolism, Covid-19, Computed tomography angiography, Intensive care unit, Risk factors,Incidence.