ABSTRACT

Objective:

The patients with pulmonary embolus apply to different clinics according to various symptoms. The aim of this study is to report the characteristics and differences of pulmonary embolism (PE) patients diagnosed due to the admittion to the emergency department (ED) versus the other outpatient clinics (OC) of four hospitals in different cities of a university.

Material and Methods:

We reviewed the records of patients who had been newly diagnosed with pulmonary embolism in the ED and OC over a 20-months period. It was a retrospective multicenter study. The charts of patients were evaluated and fulfilled by two blind researchers on a form that was prestudy prepared.

Results:

There were a total of 152 patients studied. The ratio of patients 65 years old and older was 47.7% (n: 51); 57% (n: 61) were female in ED. 107 (70%) patients were diagnosed in the ED and 45 patients (29.6%) were diagnosed in OC. Twelve (7.9%) patients visited the same ED with same complaint within ten days before the visit during which the diagnosis of PE was made. Those diagnosed with PE in the OC were more frequently obese (p: 0.016) and had longer duration of symptoms before arrival (p:0.004), while ED patients had tachycardia (p:0.017) and higher WBC levels (p: 0.001). On chest X-ray, elevation of the diaphragm was significantly more common in OC patients (p: 0.033).

Conclusion:

PE patients diagnosed in OC were stabile, obese and had longer durations of complaints than those diagnosed in the ED.