Background: Pulmonary infarction (PI) is relatively common in pulmonary embolism (PE). The association between PI and persistent symptoms or adverse events is largely unknown.
Aim: To evaluate the predictive value of radiological PI signs at acute PE diagnosis on 3-month outcomes.
Methods: We studied a convenience cohort with computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA)-confirmed PE for whom extensive 3-month follow-up data were available. The CTPAs were re-evaluated for signs of suspected PI. Associations with presenting symptoms, adverse events (recurrent thrombosis, PE-related readmission and mortality) and self-reported persistent symptoms (dyspnea, pain and post-PE functional impairment) at 3-month follow-up were investigated using univariate Cox regression analysis.
Results: At re-evaluation of the CTPAs, 57 of 99 patients (58 %) had suspected PI, comprising a median of 1 % (IQR 1-3) of total lung parenchyma. Patients with suspected PI more often presented with hemoptysis (11 % vs. 0 %) and pleural pain (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.2-6.2), and with more proximal PE on CTPA (OR 1.6, 95%CI 1.1-2.4) than patients without suspected PI. There was no association with adverse events, persistent dyspnea or pain at 3-month follow-up, but signs of PI predicted more functional impairment (OR 3.03, 95%CI 1.01-9.13). Sensitivity analysis with the largest infarctions (upper tertile of infarction volume) yielded similar results.
Conclusions: PE patients radiologically suspected of PI had a different clinical presentation than patients without those signs and reported more functional limitations after 3 months of follow-up, a finding that could guide patient counselling.
Keywords: Diagnostic imaging; Follow-up studies; Functional status; Pulmonary embolism; Pulmonary infarction.
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