Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2022.61.s1.06
Outpatient treatment of pulmonary embolism – a single-center experience
Jasmin Hamzić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2726-4308
; Emergency Department, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Gornik
; Emergency Department, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common diagnosis in an emergency
department. It also represents a large share of patients admitted to hospital wards. Patients with PE
can be risk-stratified and discharged early from the emergency department. This results in better availability
of hospital beds for other patients and a significant reduction of treatment costs for the healthcare
system. This paper aims to describe the protocols used in our emergency department, with special
emphasis on risk stratification, for adverse events and bleeding risk, treatment strategies, and outcomes
for this type of protocol.
Materials and methods: This paper is a retrospective analysis of patients discharged from the emergency
department in a of two-year period (2020-2021) with a low-risk pulmonary embolism.
Results: We have included in this study 42 patients discharged after a short-term observation from
the emergency department (<24h) or short-term hospitalization; <24h). Ninety-one percent of patients
were discharged with direct oral anticoagulant as a treatment for PE. We did not notice any
adverse events (hemorrhage, progression of PE, or major cardiovascular issues).
Conclusion: In the cohort of patients with PE, early discharge and outpatient treatment was safe
and effective, with lower healthcare costs and almost no adverse events for patients.
Keywords
pulmonary embolism; emergency department; early discharge; outpatient treatment
Hrčak ID:
281178
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2022.
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