Table 1 Patient characteristics and subgroup comparison of patients with a positive CTPA versus a negative CTPA scan
From: Mandatory adherence to diagnostic protocol increases the yield of CTPA for pulmonary embolism
Patient characteristics | All patients (n = 250) | Subgroup comparison | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
CTPA positive (n = 74) | CTPA negative (n = 175) | p value | ||
Origins | ||||
ER Hospital Outpatient clinic | 155 (62 %) 87 (34.8 %) 8 (3.2 %) | 49 (66.2 %) 24 (32.4 %) 1 (1.4 %) | 105 (60 %) 63 (36 %) 7 (4 %) | 0.543 |
Demographics | ||||
Sex (women) | 134 (53.4 %) | 40 (54.1 %) | 93 (53.1 %) | 1.000 |
Age (years) | 64 (49–73) | 66 (52.5–77) | 62 (46–71) | 0.044* |
Clinical risk factors | ||||
Immobilisation (yes) | 40 (16 %) | 12 (16.2 %) | 28 (16 %) | 1.000 |
Paresis/paralysis legs or cast in the past 4 weeks (yes) | 10 (4 %) | 3 (4.1 %) | 7 (4 %) | 1.000 |
Surgery past 4 weeks (yes) | 25 (10 %) | 11 (14.9 %) | 14 (8 %) | 0.110 |
Trauma (yes) | 6 (2.4 %) | 0 (0 %) | 6 (3.4 %) | 0.183 |
History of DVT (yes) | 21 (8.4 %) | 11 (14.9 %) | 9 (5.1 %) | 0.019* |
History of PE (yes) | 14 (5.6 %) | 5 (6.8 %) | 9 (5.1 %) | 0.564 |
COPD (yes) | 30 (12 %) | 4 (5.4 %) | 26 (14.9 %) | 0.053** |
Heart failure under treatment (yes) | 20 (8 %) | 5 (6.8 %) | 15 (8.6 %) | 0.800 |
Pacemaker (yes) | 3 (1.2 %) | 0 (0 %) | 3 (1.7 %) | 0.557 |
Active malignancy (yes) | 64 (25.6 %) | 17 (23 %) | 47 (26.9 %) | 0.634 |
Central venous catheter (yes) | 2 (0.8 %) | 1 (1.4 %) | 1 (0.6 %) | 0.507 |
Oestrogen use women (yes) | n = 134 women 3 (2.2 %) | n = 40 women 1 (2.5 %) | n = 93 women 2 (2.2 %) | 1.000 |
Pregnant women (yes) | n = 134 women 7 (5.2 %) | n = 40 women 0 (0 %) | n = 93 women 7 (7.5 %) | 0.102 |
Clinical factors | ||||
Dyspnea (yes) | 182 (72.8 %) | 54 (73 %) | 128 (73.1 %) | 1.000 |
Chest pain (yes) | 116 (46.4 %) | 31 (41.9 %) | 84 (48 %) | 0.406 |
Signs of DVT (yes) | 30 (12 %) | 15 (20.3 %) | 15 (8.6 %) | 0.017* |
Haemoptysis (yes) | 11 (4.4 %) | 3 (4.1 %) | 8 (4.6 %) | 1.000 |
Syncope (yes) | 12 (4.8 %) | 3 (4.1 %) | 9 (5.2 %) | 1.000 |
Hypotension (syst < 100) (yes) | 8 (3.2 %) | 3 (4.1 %) | 5 (2.9 %) | 0.698 |
Tachycardia (>100/bpm) (yes) | 80 (32 %) | 29 (39.2 %) | 51 (29.1 %) | 0.138 |
Tachypnea (>30/min) (yes) | 10 (4 %) | 4 (5.4 %) | 6 (3.4 %) | 0.489 |
Hypoxaemia (Sp/aO2 < 90 %) (yes) | 44 (17.6 %) | 14 (18.9 %) | 30 (17.1 %) | 0.720 |
Hypothermia (<36gr centigrade) (yes) | 2 (0.8 %) | 0 (0 %) | 2 (1.1 %) | 1.000 |
Altered consciousness (yes) | 2 (0.8 %) | 0 (0 %) | 2 (1.1 %) | 1.000 |
Wells score | 4 (3–4.5) | 4.5 (3–6) | 4 (3–4.5) | 0.008* |
Wells category (>4) | 124 (49.6 %) | 44 (59.5 %) | 79 (45.1 %) | 0.052** |
D-dimer - <0.5 - ≥0.5 | n = 159 12 (7.5 %) 147 (92.5 %) | n = 50 0 (0 %) 50 (100 %) | n = 109 12 (11 %) 97 (89 %) | 0.019* |
Pulmonary infiltrate (yes) | n = 249 37 (14.9 %) | 7 (9.5 %) | 30 (17.1 %) | 0.171 |
Atelectasis (yes) | n = 249 52 (20.9 %) | 13 (17.6 %) | 39 (22.3 %) | 0.496 |
Consolidation (yes) | n = 249 34 (13.7 %) | 13 (17.6 %) | 21 (12 %) | 0.312 |
Groundglass (yes) | n = 249 18 (7.2 %) | 9 (12.2 %) | 9 (5.1 %) | 0.062** |