Pulmonary embolism at autopsy in cancer patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially fatal disease, but data on the incidence of fatal PE in cancer patients are scant.

Objective

We sought to estimate the proportion of cancer patients with PE at autopsy.

Methods

For this retrospective cohort study, all autopsy reports of cancer patients were retrieved from PALGA: Dutch Pathology Registry and used for data extraction. The primary outcome was PE at time of autopsy, defined as any clot obstructing a pulmonary artery. The secondary outcome was venous thromboembolism, defined as the composite of thrombotic PE, deep vein thrombosis, splanchnic vein thrombosis, or internal jugular vein thrombosis.

Results

A total of 9571 cancer patients were included. In 1191 (12.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.8

SUBMITTER: Gimbel IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8252008 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature