Objective To explore the clinical manifestations, computed tomography features, management and prognosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess complicated with septic pulmonary embolism. Methods The clinical data of patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess complicated with septic pulmonary embolism admitted to Dongnan Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2012 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Results There were 8 patients who had Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess complicated with septic pulmonary embolism. Fever occurred in all patients, respiratory symptoms were noted in 5 patients, abdominal pain occurred in 2 patients, endophthalmitis coexisted in 1 patient, and diabetes mellitus coexisted in 7 patients, with no chest pain or hemoptysis. In biochemical indexes, procalcitonin increased most obviously. Microbiological studies revealed Klebsiella pneumoniae in 8 patients. Chest CT showed peripheral nodules with or without cavities, peripheral wedge-shaped opacities, a feeding vessel sign, pleural effusion, and infiltrative shadow. One patient finally deteriorated to acute respiratory failure, and died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and/or septic shock. There was one case of spontaneous discharge. A total of 6 patients were improved and cured. Conclusions The clinical manifestation of Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess complicated with septic pulmonary embolism is unspecific and misdiagnosis rate is relatively high. The major characteristics of chest CT scan include peripheral nodules with or without cavities, peripheral wedge-shaped opacities and a feeding vessel sign. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis can be made based on these features combined with clinical data and primary disease (liver abscess).
Objective To investigate the value of fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) combined with pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) in the assessment of severity and prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE). Methods A retrospective study of hospitalized patients with confirmed APTE admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from September 2013 to August 2021, divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk groups according to the Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Pulmonary Thromboembolism, and divided into survival groups and death groups according to the 30-day prognosis. The general data of all patients and relevant blood laboratory tests within 2 hours after admission were collected to calculate PESI and FAR. FAR and PESI levels were compared in APTE patients with different severity of disease and different prognosis. Independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in APTE patients were analyzed using logistic regression. Subject working characteristic curves were drawn to assess the differences in sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve of FAR, PESI and FAR combined with PESI in predicting 30-day death. Results Total of 235 APTE patients were included, divided into 85 in the low-risk group, 110 in the intermediate-risk group, and 40 in the high-risk group; 192 in the survival group and 43 in the death group according to 30-day survival. The differences in age, albumin (ALB), high-sensitivity troponin, D-dimer, fibrinogen (FIB), FAR, and PESI of APTE patients with different disease severity were statistically significant (P<0.05). FAR increased progressively with increasing severity of disease (P<0.05), and correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between FAR and PESI (r=0.614, P<0.05). Elevated FIB, FAR, PESI and decreased ALB were independent risk factors for 30-day death in patients with APTE (P<0.05). FAR, PESI, and FAR combined with PESI all had predictive value for 30-day death in APTE patients, and FAR combined with PESI predicted the largest area under the 30-day death curve. Conclusions FAR correlated with the severity and prognosis of APTE patients. FAR combined with PESI was more valuable in assessing the 30-day prognosis of APTE patients than FAR alone or PESI alone.
ObjectiveTo explore the diagnostic value of the bedside echocardiogram for different risk stratification of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. MethodsPatients with suspected pulmonary embolism in the emergency department of the Second Afflicted Hospital Xi'an Jiaotong University between July 2013 to December 2015 were included. According the Wells scores, they were divided into a low risk group (0-2 points), a intermediate risk group (3-6 points) and a high risk group (>6 points). All patients were underwent the bedside echocardiogram diagnosis, and the diagnostic value of the echocardiography for pulmonary embolism, the characteristics of different risk stratification of patients were analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software. Results115 patients with suspected pulmonary embolism were included, of which 20 were in the low risk group, 73 were in the medium risk group, and 22 were in the high risk group. The incidence of pulmonary embolism among the three groups was significantly different (high-risk vs. medium risk vs. low-risk: 90.9% vs. 76.7% vs. 15.0%, P<0.05), and the higher Wells scores gets, the greater possibility of having the pulmonary embolism. For the intermediate-risk group, the incidence of pulmonary embolism was significantly higher in patients with positive ultrasonic results than those with the negative ultrasonic results (87.3% vs. 44.4%, P<0.05). The predication of the ultrasonic positive and the negative in the low and high risk groups had no statistical differences (P>0.05). The result of echocardiogram showed that the right ventricular end-diastolic diameter, right ventricular end-diastolic transverse diameter, right atrial end-diastolic transverse diameter, RV/LV, RA/LA in the high risk group and the intermediate risk group were significantly higher than those in the low risk group (all P values <0.05). The right ventricular anterior wall activity in the low risk group was higher than that in the high risk group (P<0.05), but this difference was not found between the high risk group and the intermediate risk group. ConclusionBedside echocardiogram can be used as the diagnosis and differential diagnosis methods of suspected pulmonary embolism, and it has relatively higher diagnostic value for intermediate to high risk patients predicted by the Wells scores than low risk ones.
ObjectivesTo evaluate the effects of Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) on treatment strategies and long-term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism before and after the implementation of the first PERT in China. Methods The official start of PERT (July 2017) was took as the cut-off point, all APE patients who attended Beijing Anzhen Hospital of Capital Medical University one year before and after this cut-off time were included through the hospital electronic medical record system. The APE patients who received traditional treatment from July 5, 2016 to July 4, 2017 were recruited in the control group (Pre-PERT group), and the APE patients who received PERT mode treatment from July 5, 2017 to July 4, 2018 were recruited as the intervention group (Post-PERT group). Treatment methods during hospitalization were compared between the two groups. The patients were followed up for one year after discharge to evaluate their anticoagulant therapy, follow-up compliance and long-term prognosis. Results A total of 108 cases in the Pre-PERT group and 102 cases in the Post-PERT group were included. There was no significant statistical difference between the two groups in age and gender (both P>0.05). Anticoagulation therapy (87.3% vs. 81.5%, P=0.251), catheter-directed treatment (3.9% vs. 2.8%, P=0.644), inferior vena cava filters (1.0% vs. 1.9%, P=1.000), surgical embolectomy (2.0% vs. 0.9%, P=0.613), systemic thrombolysis (3.9% vs. 4.6%, P=0.582) were performed in both groups with no significant differences between the two groups. The use rate of rivaroxaban in the Post-PERT group was higher than that in the Pre-PERT group at one year of discharge, and the use rate of warfarin was lower than that of the Pre-PERT group (54.5% vs. 32.5%; 43.6% vs. 59.0%, P=0.043). The anticoagulation time of the Post-PERT group was longer than that of the Pre-PERT group (11.9 months vs. 10.3 months, P<0.001). The all-cause mortality within one year, hemorrhagic events and the rate of rehospitalization due to pulmonary embolism were not significantly different between the two groups, (10.4% vs. 8.6%), (14.3% vs. 14.8%), and (1.3% vs. 2.5%, χ2=3.453, P=0.485), respectively. Conclusions APE treatment was still dominated by anticoagulation and conventional treatment at the early stage of PERT implementation, and advanced treatment (catheter-directed treatment and surgical embolectomy) is improved, it showed an expanding trend after only one year of implementation although there was no statistical difference. At follow-up, there is no increase in one-year all-cause mortality and bleeding events with a slight increase in advanced treatment after PERT implementation.
ObjectiveTo explore the early predictive value of Wells score and D-dimer for acute pulmonary embolism. MethodsEighty-two cases with acute pulmonary embolism comfirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography and (or) lung ventilation/perfusion scan were retrospectively studied from October 2013 to October 2014 in our hospital. Another 82 cases without acute pulmonary embolism in the chest pain center simultaneously were selected as control group. The data on admission were analyzed including Wells score, D-dimer, pH, PCO2, PO2, P(A-a)O2, brain natriuretic peptide, troponin I of two groups of patients. Relevant variables were selected by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was made by sensitivity as the ordinate and 1 minus specificity as abscissa. The area under ROC curve (AUC) for relevant variables was calculated and the variable with higher AUC was selected. The best threshold, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were achieved from the ROC curves. ResultsThe multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Wells score (OR=8.114, 95%CI 1.894-34.761, P=0.005) and D-dimer (OR=1.009, 95%CI 1.001-1.017, P=0.021) could predict APE early. The AUC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of Wells score for the early prediction of patients with acute pulmonary embolism were 0.990, 50.0%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 66.7%, respectively. The AUC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of D-dimer for the early prediction of patients with acute pulmonary embolism were 0.986, 95.1%, 97.6%, 97.5%, 95.2%, respectively. ConclusionWells score and D-dimer have high predictive value in patients with acute pulmonary embolism, and can be used in preliminary screening of acute pulmonary embolism in the emergency department.
ObjectiveTo investigate the difference in fibrinogen and D-dimer (D-D) level among pulmonary embolism patients with different risk stratification. MethodsSixty pulmonary embolism patients admitted during January 2013 and January 2014 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.The general clinical data were gathered, and the patients were divided into a high-risk group (n=19), a moderate-risk group (n=21), and a low-risk group (n=20) according to the 2008 ESC Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism.Fourteen patients admitted simultaneously with dyspnea and chest pain without pulmonary embolism were randomly recruited as a control group.The plasma levels of fibrinogen and D-D were detected and compared between these groups. ResultsIn the pulmonary embolism patients, there were no significant statistical differences in general data between the patients with different risk degree.With the risk degree increased, the level of fibrinogen decreased and the level of D-D increased (P < 0.05).Compared with the pulmonary embolism patients, the level of fibrinogen was higher and the level of D-D was lower in the control group(P < 0.05).The level of fibrinogen was negatively correlated with the level of D-D with a correlation coefficient of-0.805. ConclusionsElevated fibrinogen is one of high risk factors of the pulmonary embolism. With the occurrence of pulmonary embolism, the level of fibrinogen becomes lower, suggesting the potential of fibrinogen as a indicator for pulmonary embolism diagnosis and risk stratification.
Objective To investigate the risk factors, clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of venous thrombosis (and pulmonary embolism) in patients with idiopathic hypereosinophilia (IHE) so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical prevention of venous thrombosis and improve prognosis.Methods Thirty-nine patients with IHE admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2010 to January 2022 were collected in this retrospective case-control study to explore the risk factors of venous thrombosis (including pulmonary embolism) and thrombosis recurrence after treatment. Results There were 17 (43.5%) patients combined with venous thrombosis of 39 patients with IHE. In the patients with vascular involvement, pulmonary embolism was the initial expression of IHE accounted for 29% (5/17). patients of IHE with pulmonary embolism were younger [44 (24.5 - 51.0) vs. 56 (46.3 - 67.8) year, P=0.035] and had higher peak absolute eosinophil counts [11.7 (7.2 - 26.5)×109/L vs. 3.8 (2.9 - 6.7)×109/L, P=0.020] than those without pulmonary embolism. After a mean follow-up of 13 months (2 - 21 months), thrombosis recurred in 35.3% (6/17) of patients. Persistent increasing in eosinophils (>0.5×109/L) was an independent risk factor for thrombus recurrence (odds ratio 13.33, 95% confidential interval 1.069 - 166.374). Conclusions Thrombosis is a common vascular impaired complication in IHE , and increased eosinophilia is a risk factor for thrombosis and thrombus recurrence after therapy. Controlling and monitoring the eosinophilic cell levels in patients with IHE may avoid severe comorbidities.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment of fungal pulmonary embolism, and to improve the understanding of this disease. Methods The diagnosis and treatment of two patients with fungal main pulmonary embolism in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were summarized and analyzed. Literatures were retrieved from Wanfang database, China national knowledge internet database and Pubmed database with search terms of “pulmonary embolism AND mucor”, “pulmonary embolism AND aspergillus”, “pulmonary embolism AND fungi”, “pulmonary embolism AND Candida”, “pulmonary embolism AND cryptococcus”. Results Case 1, a 53-year-old female was referred, with cough, high fever, breathlessness for 2 years, chest pain for 1 year. The patient had rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus history with long term prednisone treatment. Finally, the patient was diagnosed main pulmonary artery embolism (aspergillus) and disseminated aspergillosis. Although treatment with voriconazole, amphotericin B, and caspofungin were given for more than 1 year, the patient died with uncontrolled aspergillus infection. Case 2, a 67-year-old female was referred with cough, chest distress, chest pain for 8 months, breathlessness for 6 months. The patient had a history of chronic viral hepatitis C. Finally the patient was diagnosed as main pulmonary artery embolism and pulmonary valve endocarditis (aspergillus, mucor). The patient underwent pulmonary artery lesion resection and tricuspid valvuloplasty (DeVega method). After surgery, the patient was delivered with amphotericin B and posaconazole for 3 months. During the follow-up period of 1 year, the patient recovered almost totally without relapse signs. A total of 42 cases of fungal pulmonary embolism from 1980 to 2021 were retrieved (including 2 cases in this article), and 6 of these cases were main pulmonary artery embolism. Of all the cases, the median age was 49 years and 22 (54.3%) were males. 20 cases were immunocompromised. The infection pathogens included: Aspergillus (21, 50%), Candida (11, 26.2%), Mucor (7, 16.7%), and Aspergillus combined with Mucor (1, 2.5%), Coccidioides spp (1, 2.5%), and Cryptococcus (1, 2.5%). Fifteen cases were complicated with infection other than cardiopulmonary. Twenty-two cases were treated with surgery combined with antifungal medicine, and 9 cases with antifungal medicine alone. Twenty-two cases were dead and the overall mortality rate was 52.4%. There were statistically significant differences in the effects of fungal species, dissemination of other organs other than the heart and lung, and surgical treatment on the survival rate. The survival rate of different fungal species was significantly different. Dissemination to organs other than the heart and lungs reduces survival, whereas surgical treatment improves survival. Conclusions Fungal pulmonary embolism, a disease with high mortality, rarely involves the main pulmonary artery. The possibility of fungal pulmonary embolism should be considered when the cause of pulmonary thrombosis is unknown and the anticoagulant effect is poor. Although there is no unified treatment at present, early surgical combined with standard antifungal treatment may improve the prognosis of patients.
ObjectiveTo discuss the implantation and conversion technology of convertible inferior vena cava filter and the experience of management.MethodsThe clinical data of 115 patients with convertible inferior vena cava filter implantation admitted to our vascular surgery center from January 2018 to December 2018 was retrospectively analyzed.ResultsAmong the 115 patients with convertible inferior vena cava filter implantation, 74 were males and 41 were females. The ages ranged from 22 to 87 years, with median age 54 years. The successful rate of filter implantation was 100% without any surgical related complications. After implantation surgery, patients were followed up from 4 to 455 days with a median of 90 days and the recurrence rate of adverse events was 7.8% (9/115). The recurrence time were 16 to 104 days after conversion, with a median of 42 days. Twenty-three patients (20.0%) received filter conversion, one of them failed and all the others succeeded. The technical successful rate was 95.7% (22/23). The conversion operative time was 22.8 to 51.4 min, with median time 27.4 min. The intervals between implantation and conversion were from 4 to 455 days, with median time 159 days. Accessory techniques were used in 20 of 22 successful filter conversions and the application rate of accessory technique was 90.9%. The patients were followed-up from 30 to 180 days after conversion with a median time of 90 days and no adverse event was reported.ConclusionConvertible inferior vena cava filter is a significant choice for patients application of inferior vena cava filter due to its high safety of conversion surgery, technical success rate and possibility of conversion after long-term indwelling.
Objective To explore the causal association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Methods Using the summary statistical data from the FinnGen biological sample library and IEU OpenGWAS database, the relationship between OSA and VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, was explored through Mendelian randomization (MR) method, with inverse variance weighted (IVW) as the main analysis method. Results The results of univariate MR analysis using IVW method showed that OSA was associated with VTE and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.204 (1.067, 1.351) and 1.352 (1.179, 1.544), respectively. There was no correlation with DVT (P>0.05). Multivariate MR analysis showed that after adjustment for confounding factors (smoking, diabetes, obesity and cancer), OSA was associated with VTE, DVT and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.168 (1.053, 1.322), 1.247 (1.064, 1.491) and 1.158 (1.021, 1.326), respectively. Conclusion OSA increases the risk of VTE, DVT, and pulmonary embolism.