The demographic, clinical, and medical manifestations of pulmonary thromboembolism development in COVID-19

Abstract

Background Since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), various clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to severe, life-threatening courses have been presented. It is well known that COVID-19 patients are at an increased risk of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) development; however, the associated demographic, medical, and clinical factors for developing PTE remain unknown. The current study aimed to assess the characteristics of patients with PTE. Methods This case-control study was derived from an ongoing population-based investigation of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The case group included 99 patients with PTE confirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), and the controls (N=132) were age-matched patients selected from the PTE-suspected patients with a negative CTPA. The demographic, medical, and clinical characteristics of the study population were entered into the study checklist and compared. A logistic regression test was used to determine the factors associated with PTE development. Results Among the 13,099 admitted patients, 690 (5.26) were suspected of having PTE according to their clinical manifestations. CTPA was performed for suspected cases, and PTE was confirmed in 132 patients (19.13). Logistic regression assessments revealed that male gender (OR, 2.39; 95CI, 1.38. 4.13), decreased oxygen saturation (OR, 2.33; 95CI, 1.27. 4.26), and lower hemoglobin (OR, 0.83, 0.95), and albumin (OR, 0.31; 95CI, 0.18. 0.53) levels were associated with PTE development. Conclusion PTE was confirmed in one-fifth of suspected patients who underwent CTPA imaging. Male sex, decreased oxygen saturation, and lower levels of hemoglobin and albumin were independent predictors of PTE in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.