BACKGROUND: A pulmonary embolism (PE) is thought to be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). Nevertheless, this association is based on weak data. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the presence of AF influences the clinical probability of PE in a cohort of patients with suspected PE and to confirm the association between PE and AF. PATIENTS/ METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data from two trials that included 2449 consecutive patients admitted for a clinically suspected PE. An electrocardiography (ECG) was systematically performed and a PE was diagnosed by computer tomography (CT). The prevalence of AF among patients with or without a PE was compared in a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: The prevalence of PE was 22.8% (519/2272) in patients without AF and 18.8% (25/133) in patients with AF (P = 0.28). After adjustment for confounding factors, AF did not significantly modify the probability of PE (odds ratio [OR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-1.11). However, when PE suspicion was based on new-onset dyspnea, AF significantly decreased the probability of PE (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26-0.84). If isolated chest pain without dyspnea was the presenting complaint, AF tended to increase the probability of PE (OR 2.42, 95% CI 0.97-6.07). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the presence of AF does not increase the probability of PE when this diagnosis is suspected. Nevertheless, when PE suspicion is based on new-onset dyspnea, AF significantly decreases the probability of PE, as AF may mimic its clinical presentation. However, in patients with chest pain alone, AF tends to increase PE probability.
BACKGROUND:A pulmonary embolism (PE) is thought to be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). Nevertheless, this association is based on weak data. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the presence of AF influences the clinical probability of PE in a cohort of patients with suspected PE and to confirm the association between PE and AF. PATIENTS/ METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data from two trials that included 2449 consecutive patients admitted for a clinically suspected PE. An electrocardiography (ECG) was systematically performed and a PE was diagnosed by computer tomography (CT). The prevalence of AF among patients with or without a PE was compared in a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: The prevalence of PE was 22.8% (519/2272) in patients without AF and 18.8% (25/133) in patients with AF (P = 0.28). After adjustment for confounding factors, AF did not significantly modify the probability of PE (odds ratio [OR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-1.11). However, when PE suspicion was based on new-onset dyspnea, AF significantly decreased the probability of PE (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26-0.84). If isolated chest pain without dyspnea was the presenting complaint, AF tended to increase the probability of PE (OR 2.42, 95% CI 0.97-6.07). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the presence of AF does not increase the probability of PE when this diagnosis is suspected. Nevertheless, when PE suspicion is based on new-onset dyspnea, AF significantly decreases the probability of PE, as AF may mimic its clinical presentation. However, in patients with chest pain alone, AF tends to increase PE probability.
Authors: Agnieszka Krajewska; Katarzyna Ptaszynska-Kopczynska; Izabela Kiluk; Urszula Kosacka; Robert Milewski; Jacek Krajewski; Wlodzimierz Jerzy Musial; Bozena Sobkowicz Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2017-02-09 Impact factor: 3.411
Authors: Behnood Bikdeli; David Jiménez; Jorge Del Toro; Gregory Piazza; Agustina Rivas; José Luis Fernández-Reyes; Ángel Sampériz; Remedios Otero; José María Suriñach; Carmine Siniscalchi; Javier Miguel Martín-Guerra; Joaquín Castro; Alfonso Muriel; Gregory Y H Lip; Samuel Z Goldhaber; Manuel Monreal Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2021-08-28 Impact factor: 5.501