Race and sex differences in long-term survival rates for elderly patients with pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to provide estimates of race- and sex-specific survival rates over a 10-year period for a cohort of 49,752 Medicare patients admitted to the hospital in 1984 with a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. METHODS: Data were derived from Medicare Provider Analysis and Review Record inpatient claims files and the National Death Index file. RESULTS: For a primary diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, median survival times among Black men and women were 2.5 years and 5.2 years, respectively; for White men and women, the median survival times were 4.3 years and 5.9 years, respectively. Median survival times for Black men and women and White men and women with a secondary diagnosis of pulmonary embolism were 0.4 years, 0.7 years, 0.8 years, and 1.4 years, respectively. Survival rates declined with advancing age. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, survival rates among Blacks were lower than those among Whites, and men had lower survival rates than women. These survival estimates provide new insights into outcomes following pulmonary embolism in hospitalized elderly people.