An analysis of more than 1.6 million emergency department (ED) visits for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) found that nearly two-thirds of patients with low-risk PE are hospitalized after ED visits, despite evidence supporting the safety of outpatient management. The findings of the nationwide study were published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
PE is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, and its clinical management among patients with more severe presentations often requires inpatient hospitalization. However, outpatient management for some low-risk patients with PE is deemed safe, according to researchers.
For the large study, researchers evaluated whether the proportion of discharges from emergency departments for acute pulmonary embolism changed between 2012 and 2020 and which baseline characteristics are associated with emergency department discharge. The researchers found that discharge rates remained constant over time. The results suggest that outpatient management of acute PE remains underutilized. More studies are needed to shed light on ED triage decisions and interventions to improve outpatient management are also needed, researchers said.
The study was funded in part by the NHLBI.