Performance of the 4-Level Pulmonary Embolism Clinical Probability Score (4PEPS) in the diagnostic management of pulmonary embolism:An external validation study

Background: The recently published 4-level Pulmonary Embolism Clinical Probability Score (4PEPS) integrates different aspects from currently available diagnostic strategies to further reduce imaging testing in patients with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism (PE). Aim: To externally validate the performance of 4PEPS in an independent cohort. Methods: In this post-hoc analysis of the prospective diagnostic management YEARS study, the primary outcome measures were discrimination, calibration, efficiency (proportion of imaging tests potentially avoided), and failure rate (venous thromboembolism (VTE) diagnosis at baseline or follow-up in patients with a negative 4PEPS algorithm). Multiple imputation was used for missing 4PEPS items. Based on 4PEPS, PE was considered ruled out in patients with a very low clinical pre-test probability (CPTP) without D-dimer testing, in patients with a low CPTP and D-dimer &lt;1000 μg/L, and in patients with a moderate CPP and D-dimer below the age-adjusted threshold. Results: Of the 3465 patients, 474 (14 %) were diagnosed with VTE at baseline or during 3-month follow-up. Discriminatory performance of the 4PEPS items was good (area under ROC-curve, 0.82; 95%CI, 0.80–0.84) as was calibration. Based on 4PEPS, PE could be considered ruled out without imaging in 58 % (95%CI 57–60) of patients (efficiency), for an overall failure rate of 1.3 % (95%CI 0.86–1.9). Conclusion: In this retrospective external validation, 4PEPS appeared to safely rule out PE with a high efficiency. Nevertheless, although not exceeding the failure rate margin by ISTH standards, the observed failure rate in our analysis appeared to be higher than in the original 4PEPS derivation and validation study. This highlights the importance of a prospective outcome study.</p

Treatment Patterns of Cancer-associated Thrombosis in the Netherlands: The Four Cities Study

Background Current guidelines recommend either low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) as first-line treatment in cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE)

Use of the National Early Warning Score for predicting deterioration of patients with acute pulmonary embolism: a post-hoc analysis of the YEARS Study

Background The Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) and the simplified PESI (sPESI) are validated scores for mortality prediction in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is a general prognostic risk score for multiple clinical settings. We investigated whether the NEWS had a comparable performance with the PESI and sPESI, for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death in patients with acute PE. Methods In haemodynamically stable patients with confirmed PE from the YEARS Study (2013-2015), we evaluated the performance of the NEWS, PESI and sPESI for predicting 7-day ICU admission and 30-day mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Results Of 352 patients, 12 (3.4%) were admitted to the ICU and 5 (1.4%) died. The AUC of the NEWS for ICU admission was 0.80 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.94) and 0.92 (95% CI 0.82 to 1.00) for 30-day mortality. At a threshold of 3 points, NEWS yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 53% for ICU admission and 100% and 52% for 30-day mortality. The AUC of the PESI was 0.64 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.79) for ICU admission and 0.94 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.00) for mortality. At a threshold of 66 points, PESI yielded a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 38% for ICU admission. For mortality, these were 100% and 37%, respectively. The performance of the sPESI was similar to that of PESI. Conclusion In comparison with PESI and sPESI, NEWS adequately predicted 7-day ICU admission as well as 30-day mortality, supporting its potential relevance for clinical practice

Home Treatment Compared to Initial Hospitalization in Normotensive Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism in the Netherlands: A Cost Analysis

Background Venous thromboembolism constitutes substantial health care costs amounting to approximately 60 million euros per year in the Netherlands. Compared with initial hospitalization, home treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with a cost reduction. An accurate estimation of cost savings per patient treated at home is currently lacking. Aim The aim of this study was to compare health care utilization and costs during the first 3 months after a PE diagnosis in patients who are treated at home versus those who are initially hospitalized. Methods Patient-level data of the YEARS cohort study, including 383 normotensive patients diagnosed with PE, were used to estimate the proportion of patients treated at home, mean hospitalization duration in those who were hospitalized, and rates of PE-related readmissions and complications. To correct for baseline differences within the two groups, regression analyses was performed. The primary outcome was the average total health care costs during a 3-month follow-up period for patients initially treated at home or in hospital. Results Mean hospitalization duration for the initial treatment was 0.69 days for those treated initially at home (n = 181) and 4.3 days for those initially treated in hospital (n = 202). Total average costs per hospitalized patient were €3,209 and €1,512 per patient treated at home. The adjusted mean difference was €1,483 (95% confidence interval: €1,181-1,784). Conclusion Home treatment of hemodynamically stable patients with acute PE was associated with an estimated net cost reduction of €1,483 per patient. This difference underlines the advantage of triage-based home treatment of these patients

Pregnancy-adapted YEARS algorithm for diagnosis of suspected pulmonary embolism

Acute pulmonary embolism is one of the leading causes of maternal death, with the overall incidence reported to be 1.72 cases per 1000 deliveries, accounting for approximately 1 death in every 100,000 deliveries. Since the D-dimer test has low specificity and sensitivity, it is common for pregnant women with suspected pulmonary embolism to undergo computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography or ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scanning, both of which involve radiation exposure to the mother and fetus. It is unknown whether a pregnancy-adapted clinical screening algorithm could be used to safely avoid diagnostic imaging in a subset of pregnant women with suspected pulmonary embolism. The researchers performed a multicenter, international, prospective study of pregnant women with suspected pulmonary embolism. They assessed 3 criteria from the YEARS algorithm (clinical signs of deep vein thrombosis, hemoptysis, and pulmonary embolism as the most likely diagnosis) and measured the D-dimer level as components of the screening algorithm. Pulmonary embolism was ruled out if none of the 3 criteria were met and the D-dimer level was less than 1000 ng/mL, or if 1 or more of the 3 criteria were met and the D-dimer level was less than 500 ng/mL. Adaptation of the YEARS algorithm for pregnant women involved compression ultrasonography for women with symptoms of deep vein thrombosis; if the results were positive (ie, a clot was present), CT pulmonary angiography was not performed. All patients in whom pulmonary embolism had not been ruled out by screening criteria underwent CT pulmonary angiography. The primary outcome was the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) at 3 months. The secondary outcome was the proportion of patients in whom CT pulmonary angiography was not indicated to safely rule out pulmonary embolism. A total of 510 women were screened, of whom 12 (2.4%) were excluded. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in 20 patients (4.0%) at baseline. During follow-up, popliteal deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed in 1 patient (0.21%; 95% confidence interval, 0.0%–1.2%); no patient had pulmonary embolism. CT pulmonary angiography was not indicated, and thus was avoided, in 195 patients (39%; 95% confidence interval, 35%–44%). The efficiency of the algorithm was highest during the first trimester of pregnancy and lowest during the third trimester; CT pulmonary angiography was avoided in 65% of patients who began the study in the first trimester and in 32% who began the study in the third trimester. The researchers concluded that the pregnancy-adapted YEARS diagnostic algorithm safely ruled out acute pulmonary embolism in pregnant patients who were referred for suspected pulmonary embolism. Using this approach, they found that the main advantage was that CT pulmonary angiography was averted in 32% to 65% of the patients, depending on the trimester of presentation, without compromising safety