Chest ACCP Career Connection
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Article Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Carson, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Kelley, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Carson, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Kelley, M. A.
(Chest. 1996;110:1212-1219.)
© 1996 American College of Chest Physicians

Pulmonary Embolism and Mortality in Patients With COPD

Jeffrey L. Carson MD1; Michael L. Terrin MD, MPH, FCCP2; Amy Duff MHS1; and Mark A. Kelley MD, FCCP3

1 From the Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
2 From Maryland Medical Research Institute, Baltimore
3 From the Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia

Background: Previous studies suggest that most patients with pulmonary embolism die of their underlying diseases and pulmonary embolism is itself responsible for a minority of deaths. It has not been determined whether pulmonary embolism is associated with increased mortality among patients with different specific diseases.

Methods: We assessed the mortality in 1,487 patients who had lung scans to pursue the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. An outcome classification committee prospectively reviewed deaths occurring up to 1 year after each patient's entry into the study.

Results: Ninety-five (23.8%) patients with pulmonary embolism and 189 (18.9%) without pulmonary embolism died within 1 year of study entry (estimated relative risk, 1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.79). Mortality according to pulmonary embolism status was different among patients with COPD from mortality among patients who did not have COPD (interaction p=0.03). Of 45 patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism, 24 (53.3%; 95% confidence interval, 38.8 to 67.9%) died within 1 year. After adjustment for patient characteristics, the estimated risk of dying within 1 year was 1.94 times (95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 3.24) for patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism compared with those without pulmonary embolism, and 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 1.54) for patients without COPD (interaction p=0.08).

Conclusions: Patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism have an increased 1-year mortality. Further study is needed to clarify the reason(s) for the increase in mortality.

Key Words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease • pulmonary embolism

Submitted on January 8, 1996
Accepted on May 1, 2007






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1996 by the American College of Chest Physicians.