Chest
Clinical InvestigationsPlumonary EmbolismEstimated Incidence of Acute Pulmonary Embolism in a Community/Teaching General Hospital
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
A computer search was made of discharge diagnoses of all patients hospitalized at St. Joseph Mercy-Oakland, Pontiac, MI, during a 2-year period from July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2000. St. Joseph Mercy-Oakland is a general hospital with a published sample census of 269 patients.6 It is an American College of Surgeons' designated teaching hospital and cancer center. It is a trauma center; it is not a burn center. There is no fixed policy for prophylaxis against deep venous thrombosis. Patients
Results
During the 2-year period of study, there were 44,136 patients admitted to the hospital, including newborns. The incidence of PE was 95 of 44,136 patients (0.22%; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.26%). No patients < 20 years old had PE. Of adult patients (≥ 20 years old), the incidence of acute PE was 95 of 34,567 patients (0.27%; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.34%).
The basis for the diagnosis of acute PE was pulmonary angiography in 14 patients, a positive contrast enhanced spiral CT in 1 patient, a high-probability
Discussion
The incidence of acute PE among adult patients in a community/teaching general hospital, 0.27%, was in the range reported in a large urban-care hospital and in a large university hospital, 0.27 to 0.40%.3, 4, 5
The criteria used for identification of patients with PE in the present investigation included the detection of deep venous thrombosis by compression ultrasound among patients with suspected PE and a nondiagnostic / scan.10, 11, 12 This strategy of diagnosis of PE is now
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank Prathyusha Savarapu, MMBS, Ibetsam Rafeea, MD, Meenakshi Sharma, MD, and Rebecca G. Estrellado for assistance in preparation of the data.
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