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Banala SR, Yeung SJ, Rice TW, et al. Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study. Int J Emerg Med. 2017;10(1):19doi: 10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9.
Banala, S. R., Yeung, S. J., Rice, T. W., Reyes-Gibby, C. C., Wu, C. C., Todd, K. H., Peacock, W. F., & Alagappan, K. (2017). Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study. International journal of emergency medicine, 10(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9
Banala, Srinivas R, et al. "Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study." International journal of emergency medicine vol. 10,1 (2017): 19. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9
Banala SR, Yeung SJ, Rice TW, Reyes-Gibby CC, Wu CC, Todd KH, Peacock WF, Alagappan K. Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study. Int J Emerg Med. 2017 Dec;10(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9. Epub 2017 Jun 06. PMID: 28589462; PMCID: PMC5461224.
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Int J Emerg Med. 2017 Dec;10(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9. Epub 2017 Jun 06.

Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study.

International journal of emergency medicine

Srinivas R Banala, Sai-Ching Jim Yeung, Terry W Rice, Cielito C Reyes-Gibby, Carol C Wu, Knox H Todd, W Frank Peacock, Kumar Alagappan

Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 1468, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
  2. Present address: Emergency Department, Caboolture Hospital, McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, 4510, Australia.
  3. Department of Diagnostic Radiology - Thoracic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 1478, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
  4. Present address: EMLine.org, Mendoza, Argentina.
  5. Department of Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
  6. Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 1468, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. [email protected].

PMID: 28589462 PMCID: PMC5461224 DOI: 10.1186/s12245-017-0144-9

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization and early anticoagulation therapy remain standard care for patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with pulmonary embolism (PE). For PEs discovered incidentally, however, optimal therapeutic strategies are less clear-and all the more so when the patient has cancer, which is associated with a hypercoagulable state that exacerbates the threat of PE.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of a historical cohort of patients with cancer and incidental PE who were referred for assessment to the ED in an institution whose standard of care is outpatient treatment of selected patients and use of low-molecular-weight heparin for anticoagulation. Eligible patients had received a diagnosis of incidental PE upon routine contrast enhanced chest CT for cancer staging. Survival data was collected at 30 days and 90 days from the date of ED presentation and at the end of the study.

RESULTS: We identified 193 patients, 135 (70%) of whom were discharged and 58 (30%) of whom were admitted to the hospital. The 30-day survival rate was 92% overall, 99% for the discharged patients and 76% for admitted patients. Almost all (189 patients, 98%) commenced anticoagulation therapy in the ED; 170 (90%) of these received low-molecular-weight heparin. Patients with saddle pulmonary artery incidental PEs were more likely to die within 30 days (43%) than were those with main or lobar (11%), segmental (6%), or subsegmental (5%) incidental PEs. In multivariate analysis, Charlson comorbidity index (age unadjusted), hypoxemia, and incidental PE location (P = 0.004, relative risk 33.5 (95% CI 3.1-357.4, comparing saddle versus subsegmental PE) were significantly associated with 30-day survival. Age, comorbidity, race, cancer stage, tachycardia, hypoxemia, and incidental PE location were significantly associated with hospital admission.

CONCLUSIONS: Selected cancer patients presenting to the ED with incidental PE can be treated with low-molecular-weight heparin anticoagulation and safely discharged. Avoidance of unnecessary hospitalization may decrease in-hospital infections and death, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient quality of life. Because the natural history and optimal management of this condition is not well described, information supporting the creation of straightforward evidence-based practice guidelines for ED teams treating this specialized patient population is needed.

Keywords: Cancer; Emergency; Incidental pulmonary embolism; Outpatient

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