Pulmonary embolism in COVID-19; a systematic review

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the more severe clinical presentation of venous thromboembolism. Pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients varies from the classic pulmonary embolism without COVID-19 regarding clinical, demographic, and laboratory. However, there was an inconsistency in these findings. Hence this systemic review was conducted to assess the pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients by reviewing previous studies that reported pulmonary embolism during the COVID-19 era and conducted on COVID-19 patients. Studies related to the current study subject were explored using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The included search keywords were "PE, Prevalence, COVID-19, Risk factors, and Predictors" and were used in various combinations. The inclusion criteria were original studies that reported pulmonary embolism conducted during COVID-19 on COVID-19 patients and full-text articles. A total of 528 articles were obtained, and only eight articles were eligible for the inclusion criteria. The involved studies were conducted on a total number of 2,067 participants and they all were retrospective studies. The prevalence of PE is increased by the emergence of COVID-19 infection which suggested a significant correlation. The risk factors of PE among COVID-19 patients vary from the classical ones. D-dimer was found to be a good predictor for PE among COVID-19 patients. The presence of PE among COVID-19 patients requires and predicts the need for mechanical ventilation.