Autopsy Proven Pulmonary Embolism in Hospital Patients: Are We Detecting Enough Deep Vein Thrombosis?

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Vol. 82; no. 4; pp. 203 - 205
• Main Authors: Sandler, D A, Martin, J F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England SAGE Publications 01.04.1989
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Autopsy; Chick Embryo; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pulmonary Embolism - etiology; Pulmonary Embolism - mortality; Pulmonary Embolism - pathology; Retrospective Studies; Thrombophlebitis - complications; Thrombophlebitis - diagnosis; Thrombophlebitis - pathology; deep vein thrombosis; pulmonary embolism; autopsy diagnosis; screening tests
• ISSN: 0141-0768; 1758-1095
• DOI: 10.1177/014107688908200407

To investigate the present status of pulmonary embolism as a cause of death in a general hospital patient population, a 5-year retrospective study of all autopsy reports and associated hospital records was undertaken. Pulmonary embolism was thought to be the cause of death in 239 of 2388 autopsies performed (10%): 15% of these patients were aged less than 60 years and 68% did not have cancer. Of these patients, 83% had deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs at autopsy, of whom only 19% had symptoms of DVT before death. Only 3% of patients who had DVT at autopsy had undergone an investigation for such before death. Twenty-four per cent of patients who died from pulmonary embolism had undergone surgery a mean of 6.9 days before. Screening tests for DVT should be applied widely in the hospital population.