Diagnosis and prognosis of acute pulmonary embolism: focus on serum troponins

Pulmonary embolism is a common disease associated with high mortality. Death due to pulmonary embolism occurs mainly before hospital admission or in the first hours of the hospital stay. Prompt diagnosis and prognostic stratification and more intensive treatment in patients with estimated high risk for adverse outcomes have the potential to reduce mortality due to pulmonary embolism. Significant advances have recently been made in the risk stratification for adverse outcomes in patients with pulmonary embolism and normal blood pressure. In these patients, right ventricle overload assessed by echocardiography and probably by helical computerized tomography is a predictor of in-hospital mortality. Serum troponin is rapidly available in the emergency room, and has a critical role in the management of patients with acute coronary syndromes. The role of serum troponin in patients with pulmonary embolism has been explored recently: it seems to be marginal in diagnosis while it can significantly contribute to prognostic stratification. Elevated serum levels of troponins are associated with right ventricular overload and adverse in-hospital outcomes in patients with pulmonary embolism and normal blood pressure.     

An overview of pulmonary embolism.

Unfortunately, acute pulmonary embolism is still a far too common occurrence. Fortunately, with prompt recognition, diagnosis, and treatment, mortality can be reduced. This article provides an overview of risk factors, diagnostic studies, and treatment of patients with acute pulmonary embolism in the critical care setting.     

中危（次大面积）急性肺栓塞患者是否需要溶栓治疗

中危（次大面积）急性肺栓塞患者是否需要溶栓治疗已经争论了很多年。中危肺栓塞患者具有较高的死亡风险。因此,有人建议给予中危肺栓塞患者溶栓治疗,溶栓治疗可以更快地溶解血栓,从而降低中危肺栓塞患者的病死率。但也有研究表明,与单纯抗凝治疗比较,溶栓治疗不能进一步降低中危急性肺栓塞患者的病死率和复发率,且并发出血率较高。该文就中危急性肺栓塞溶栓治疗的有效性及安全性作一综述。     

Concurrent pulmonary embolism and acute coronary syndrome with dynamic electrocardiographic changes

Concomitant occurrence of pulmonary embolism and acute coronary syndrome is rare. The early diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome with right ventricular myocardial ischemia during acute pulmonary embolism (APE) are crucial. The irreversible right ventricular myocardial dysfunction is a major risk factor for mortality from APE. In this case report, we present a 66-year-old female patient with APE who had a significant right coronary artery (RCA) lesion, which was successfully treated with angioplasty and stent implantation.     

Facteurs pronostiques de l’embolie pulmonaire

Risk stratification of patients with pulmonary embolism represents an important step and may help to guide initial therapeutic management. Pulmonary embolism can be stratified into several levels of risk of early death or complications based on the presence of several risk factors. High-risk pulmonary embolism is defined by shock or peripheral signs of hypoperfusion. It is a life-threatening emergency with high short-term mortality (> 25%) requiring specific therapeutic strategy with inotropic agents and fibrinolysis. In patients with normotensive pulmonary embolism, the presence of right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography and/or myocardial injury, as attested by elevated levels of biomarkers, is associated with an intermediate risk of early death. These patients need close monitoring, while evaluation of fibrinolysis efficacy is currently underway. Patients with normotensive pulmonary embolism and without right ventricular dysfunction or myocardial injury have low risk of death. These patients may be candidates for home treatment. Several scores combining these risk factors have been described.     

肺栓塞误诊及漏诊26例临床分析

目的 探讨肺栓塞误漏诊常见原因,提高对肺栓塞的认识和诊断,以降低误、漏诊率、病死率.方法 回顾性分析26例诊断明确的肺栓塞的临床资料及误诊情况,就误、漏诊原因加以分析.结果 肺栓塞常见误漏诊原因为临床医生对肺栓塞的不认识或重视不够;肺栓塞起病隐匿,症状多样,缺乏特异性;合并心、肺慢性疾病掩盖了肺栓塞的临床表现.结论 加强对肺栓塞的认识,对疑似肺栓塞症状患者,特别对有肺栓塞高危因素的人群,应尽早行特异性检查,以提高确诊率和早期抢救成功率.     

胸痛相关肺血管病的诊治进展

胸痛是临床常见症状之一,本文针对以胸痛特点为临床表现的肺血管疾病进展予以综述,尤其是致死性肺栓塞的危险因素、临床表现、诊疗及预防等方面的进展,提高对肺栓塞的认识水平,为临床肺血管病的诊治提供参考,并提出了围绕肺血管病的诊治管理模式。     

Pulmonary embolism. Guide to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention

While more remains to be learned about the natural history of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, better information is now available on which to base decisions about diagnosis and treatment. Several retrospective and prospective studies have placed the value of lung scanning, venography, and pulmonary angiography in better perspective. Newer diagnostic techniques for deep vein thrombosis, such as 125I-labeled fibrinogen scanning and impedance plethysmography, are valuable and should be more widely used. Other diagnostic techniques for pulmonary embolism, such as computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, may be of value but are still untested. More effective therapies are now available. Moderate-dose subcutaneous heparin and lower-dose warfarin for long-term therapy of deep vein thrombosis are attractive alternatives to standard warfarin therapy. Thrombolytic therapy has not replaced standard intravenous heparin therapy, although it should be considered in treatment of a massive pulmonary embolus. Perhaps most important, prevention of deep vein thrombosis in most patients at high risk is possible with minidose heparin therapy or intermittent pneumatic compression. One of these methods of prophylaxis should be used in all high-risk patients as the only current effective way to decrease the mortality of pulmonary embolism.     

双能量CT肺灌注在肺栓塞诊断及危险分层中的价值

  目的  探讨双能量CT肺灌注的灌注缺陷对肺栓塞诊断及危险分层。  方法  选取我院2018年1月~2020年12月157例临床疑诊为肺栓塞的患者为研究对象,最终120例患者确诊肺栓塞,所有患者均行双能量CT肺灌注成像(DEPI)及肺动脉CT血管造影成像(CTPA),根据临床生物学标志及影像学改变,将患者分为肺栓塞低危组(n=30)、中危组(n=35)、高危组(n=55)。比较患者肺栓塞数量,肺动脉灌注缺失面积分数、右/左心室短轴最大径比值及心脏生物学标志物。所有患者随访3月并记录结局。  结果  DEPI与CTPA对肺栓塞的诊断相符,诊断符合率为86.1%; CTPA和DEPI联合诊断的曲线下面积为0.95,特异性为89.20%,敏感度为95.80%,Youden指数为0.85,较CTPA和DEPI单独诊断肺栓塞更好。肺栓塞低危组、中危组、高危组的灌注缺损面积、心脏生物学标志物及右/左心室短轴最大径比值经两两比较差异有统计学意义(P < 0.05)。  结论  DEPI可作为CTPA的诊断肺栓塞的补充,并通过肺动脉灌注缺失面积分数危险分层,是一种新的临床诊疗方案的选择。      

心力衰竭并发肺动脉栓塞研究进展

充血性心力衰竭（CHF）在许多临床表现上与肺动脉栓塞相似,而前者易并发后者,两者一旦合并存在,即提示患者预后更为恶劣。该文从发病原因、危险因素、临床表现、诊断与预后、预防及治疗等方面复习近年心力衰竭并发肺动脉栓塞研究进展,以期能在诊断及预防CHF并发肺动脉栓塞等方面提供相关的信息和思路。     

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and treatment in patients with acute stroke and traumatic brain injury

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Patients with acute stroke and traumatic brain injury are at risk to develop venous thromboembolism. This review analyzes the available literature to propose guidelines for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism in these groups of patients. RECENT FINDINGS: In acute ischemic stroke, low-dose low-molecular-weight heparin has the best benefit-risk ratio to prevent venous thromboembolism. Patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury should receive intermittent pneumatic compression, followed by low-dose low-molecular-weight heparin or unfractioned heparin 3-4 days after stroke onset or 24 h after injury or surgery, respectively, and after cessation of bleeding. Concerning treatment, in patients with deep-vein thrombosis lower doses of heparin are indicated to prevent pulmonary embolism, and a vena cava filter should be considered. In patients with pulmonary embolism, treatment could be more aggressive, because of a high mortality risk. SUMMARY: Adequate prevention of venous thromboembolism with intermittent pneumatic compression or pharmacological prophylaxis is important. The best treatment of venous thromboembolism remains unclear. In case of pulmonary embolism, more aggressive treatment is warranted.     

Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The importance of heightened awareness.

Left untreated, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism have a high rate of mortality and long-term morbidity. Physicians therefore must maintain a high index of suspicion for these conditions. Accurate diagnosis is facilitated by knowing the most common sites of thrombus formation, the likelihood of propagation, which patients are at greatest risk, signs and symptoms, and which tests to order. Prompt administration of anticoagulants and, in some cases, thrombolytic agents can minimize the consequences of these diseases. Interruption of the inferior vena cava, thrombectomy, and thromboembolectomy are other treatment options.     

急诊床边超声对修正的Geneva评分中度患者肺栓塞的预测价值

目的回顾性分析急诊床边超声在修正的Geneva评分低中高度患者肺栓塞的诊断价值,减少肺栓塞误诊漏诊,提高肺栓塞的早期诊断率。方法收集1999—2010年10月本院可疑肺栓塞112例,其中临床确诊肺栓塞75例,分析修正的Geneva评分及超声结果。据修正的Geneva评分分为低、中、高危组,每组分为超声阳性与超声阴性对照组,分别计数确诊肺栓塞与非肺栓塞人数,SPSS 15.0软件进行统计分析,计数资料组间比较采用卡方检验或FISHER精确概率法分析,以P<0.05为差异具有统计学意义。结果肺栓塞可能性分别与Geneva评分(χ2=38.6862.P<0.0001)高低有关,具有统计学意义。超声阳性与超声阴性对照组分别对应的肺栓塞与非肺栓塞人数在Ge-neva评分低组(P=0.2120)及高组(P=1.0000)无统计学意义,在中组超声阳性确诊肺栓塞的可能性大于超声阴性,(P=0.0235)有统计学意义。结论修正的Geneva评分中度患者床边超声检查可增加确诊肺栓塞的可能性,减少肺栓塞误漏诊,提高肺栓塞的早期诊断率。     

肺栓塞诊治若干问题的探讨（附31例报告）

目的 分析肺栓塞诊断方法及误诊、误治后果。方法 根据31例肺栓塞的首发症状、初步诊断、辅助检查等分析误诊原因。结果 31例肺栓塞当日确诊仅7例，3日内诊断10例，1周内诊断4例，2周内诊断2例，延误诊断8例，而首日诊断为缺血性心脏病者占35.5%，肺部其他疾病占25.8%。结论 肺栓塞延误诊断与死亡率呈正相关，早期诊断正确治疗可以降低死亡率。     

肺栓塞的诊断方法

肺栓塞在临床上较为常见,但诊断较困难。诊断应始于识别肺栓塞发生的危险因素及评估患者发生肺栓塞的可能性大小以及患者的临床症状和体征。常规的客观检查包括D-二聚体测定、心电图、胸片及超声心动图等。近年来,尚有人研究经食道超声在肺栓塞诊断中的价值。而且,随着影像学技术的发展,CT血管造影(CTA)、磁共振血管造影(MRA)及与其相关的一系列先进手段也逐渐应用于肺栓塞的诊断中,并显示出良好的应用前景。肺血管造影一直被认为是肺栓塞诊断的金标准,有人认为,多探测器螺旋CT(MDCT)的运用可能成为诊断肺栓塞的无创金标准,但结合临床的综合判断仍是诊断的基础。     

Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism is one of the major diagnostic challenges facing the emergency physician, since the failure to rapidly diagnose and treat this condition can result in early mortality. Presently, as many as 100,000 preventable deaths a year may be caused by pulmonary embolism. A high index of suspicion and a well thought out approach to the diagnosis and treatment of this elusive condition should help emergency physicians to improve upon these statistics.     

脑钠肽和D-二聚体检测对急性肺栓塞早期诊断及预后评估的价值

目的应用脑钠肽和D-二聚体的检测方法,以期达到对急性肺栓塞的早期诊断及预后判断。方法26例急性肺栓塞患者分为两组：观察组12例,给予脑钠肽、D-二聚体检查,确诊为肺栓塞后给予溶栓、抗凝治疗。对照组14例,给予心电图、胸片、心超、血气分析检查及外院肺通气灌注扫描检查,确诊为肺栓塞后给予溶栓、抗凝治疗;比较两组患者的确诊时间、病死率。结果观察组的确诊时间（14．1±1．8h）和病死率（25．0％）显著低于对照组（23．3±1．5h、35．7％）,差异均具有显著性（P〈0．05）。结论联合应用脑钠肽和D-二聚体的检测方法对急性肺栓塞患者能够有效的缩短确诊时间、改善临床症状、降低死亡率。     

Investigation and management of patients with pleuritic chest pain presenting to the accident and emergency department.

The assessment of a patient with pleuritic chest pain calls for a high degree of clinical acumen and a high degree of suspicion that the diagnosis might be pulmonary embolism. This area is one of the most difficult in A&E medicine (and indeed chest medicine). One error is to "think the best" when considering the diagnosis in such patients but experience soon teaches to "think PE" and diagnose less serious conditions only when pulmonary embolism has been excluded. A key consideration is the presence of risk factors. Because the diagnosis is difficult, there should be no hesitation in requesting a senior opinion or referring to the inpatient medical team. We have produced an algorithm (fig 1) for the investigation and management of pleuritic chest pain as discussed in this article. Three questions relating to this article are: (1) Can pulmonary embolism be the diagnosis in a patient with pleuritic chest pain but a normal chest radiograph, ECG, and arterial blood gases? (2) What is the chest radiograph abnormality which is most likely to alert you to the possibility of pulmonary embolism? (3) What percentage of patients with a low clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism but a high probability V/Q scan will have pulmonary embolism demonstrated on pulmonary angiography? The three key references are The PIOPED Investigators, Dalen, and Fennerty.     

容易误诊为肺部感染的青年急性肺栓塞(附15例报告)

目的分析青年急性肺栓塞的临床特点,提高临床医生对本病的诊断意识,以早期规范治疗。方法对我院2010年1月—2012年12月收治的15例青年急性肺栓塞的临床资料行回顾性分析。结果本组15例,14例经血管彩色多普勒超声检查确诊下肢深静脉血栓形成,2例有获得性危险因素,2例有基础疾病。症状以咳嗽、咳痰最常见,其次为发热、胸闷;体征以肺部听诊湿啰音多见;10例低氧血症,D-二聚体均升高。15例均经CT肺动脉造影(CTPA)检查确诊肺栓塞。结论青年急性肺栓塞症状不典型,临床医生接诊具有肺栓塞高危因素的呼吸道症状患者,应高度警惕肺栓塞,CTPA检查可助诊。     

急性肺栓塞的临床特点及诊治方法

【目的】分析总结急性肺栓塞的临床特点,提高对该病的认识,减少漏诊率、误诊率和病死率。【方法】对本院39例诊治为急性肺栓塞的临床表现、诊断和治疗方法进行回顾性分析。【结果】肺栓塞缺乏临床特异性表现,常被误诊为冠心病、慢性阻塞性肺疾病、肺炎等。D-二聚体大于500μg／L者占92．3％,血气分析P02〈80mmHg占89．7％,螺旋CT肺段动脉以上动脉血栓者占79．5％。溶栓加抗凝治疗组有效率为81％,单纯抗凝治疗组有效率为66．7％。【结论】肺栓塞易漏诊和误诊,血气分析、D-二聚体、UCG可作为急性肺栓塞的初筛检查指标,溶栓加抗凝疗法治疗PE优于单纯抗凝疗法。