Time trends in pulmonary embolism in the United States: evidence of overdiagnosis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) may improve detection of life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE), but this sensitive test may have a downside: overdiagnosis and overtreatment (finding clinically unimportant emboli and exposing patients to harms from unnecessary treatment).

Methods

To assess the impact of CTPA on national PE incidence, mortality, and treatment complications, we conducted a time trend analysis using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and Multiple Cause-of-Death databases. We compared age-adjusted incidence, mortality, and treatment complications (in-hospital gastrointestinal tract or intracranial hemorrhage or secondary thrombocytopenia) of PE among US adults before (1993-1998) and after (1998-2006) CTPA was introduced.

Results

SUBMITTER: Wiener RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3140219 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature