Zhe Xu1, Xiaoxi Fan1, Shun Xu1. 1. Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the most severe complications after thoracic surgeries. Thus it is of great importance to learn the characteristics of acute PE after thoracic surgeries. This study summarized the clinical characteristics and experience on the diagnosis and treatment of 37 patients with postoperative acute pulmonary embolism, in order to improve its prophylaxis and management level. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients with postoperative acute pulmonary embolism following thoracic surgeries. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), diagnosis, surgical procedure, onset time, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management were comprehensively analyzed. RESULTS: There were 16 males (43.2%) and 21 females (56.8%). The average age was (65.64±6.29) years (range from 53 years to 82 years) and 32 patients were over 60 years. BMI ranged from 17.1 kg/m² to 30.8 kg/m² with median of 26.3 kg/m². And 27 patients' BMI (73.0%) were over 25.0 kg/m². Thirty-four patients (91.9%) were with malignancies. Median presentation time was the 4th day postoperatively, while 11 patients were presented on the 3rd day postoperatively which accounted for the most. Patients with acute pulmonary embolism accounted for 77.8% from 9 am to 9 pm. D-dimer (D-D) ranged from 1.0 μg/mL-20.0 μg/mL (FEU) with median of (7.09±4.45) μg/mL (FEU) and 32 (86.5%) patients' D-D were over 3.00 μg/mL (FEU). CONCLUSIONS: The survival rate of postoperative acute pulmonary embolism can be increased by fully understanding its clinical characteristics, early diagnosis and multiple disciplinary treatment.
BACKGROUND:Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the most severe complications after thoracic surgeries. Thus it is of great importance to learn the characteristics of acute PE after thoracic surgeries. This study summarized the clinical characteristics and experience on the diagnosis and treatment of 37 patients with postoperative acute pulmonary embolism, in order to improve its prophylaxis and management level. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients with postoperative acute pulmonary embolism following thoracic surgeries. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), diagnosis, surgical procedure, onset time, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management were comprehensively analyzed. RESULTS: There were 16 males (43.2%) and 21 females (56.8%). The average age was (65.64±6.29) years (range from 53 years to 82 years) and 32 patients were over 60 years. BMI ranged from 17.1 kg/m² to 30.8 kg/m² with median of 26.3 kg/m². And 27 patients' BMI (73.0%) were over 25.0 kg/m². Thirty-four patients (91.9%) were with malignancies. Median presentation time was the 4th day postoperatively, while 11 patients were presented on the 3rd day postoperatively which accounted for the most. Patients with acute pulmonary embolism accounted for 77.8% from 9 am to 9 pm. D-dimer (D-D) ranged from 1.0 μg/mL-20.0 μg/mL (FEU) with median of (7.09±4.45) μg/mL (FEU) and 32 (86.5%) patients' D-D were over 3.00 μg/mL (FEU). CONCLUSIONS: The survival rate of postoperative acute pulmonary embolism can be increased by fully understanding its clinical characteristics, early diagnosis and multiple disciplinary treatment.
distribution of acute PE in time. A: The distribution of onset time of acute PE in different postoperative days; B: The distribution of onset time of acute PE within 24 h.
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急性肺栓塞发病前患者活动情况
Activities before acute PE
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急性肺栓塞患者的D-D分布情况
The distribution of D-D for patients with acute pulmonary embolism
37例的术后急性肺栓塞患者的术式及诊断情况The diagnosis and operative procedure of 37 patients with postoperative acute pulmonary embolism急性肺栓塞发病的时间分布情况。A:术后急性肺栓塞发病时间的分布情况;B:急性肺栓塞在24 h内不同时间点上分布情况。distribution of acute PE in time. A: The distribution of onset time of acute PE in different postoperative days; B: The distribution of onset time of acute PE within 24 h.急性肺栓塞发病前患者活动情况Activities before acute PE急性肺栓塞患者的D-D分布情况The distribution of D-D for patients with acute pulmonary embolism
讨论
PE具有发生隐匿,误诊率高,病死率高的特点,近年来PE这种并不少见的术后并发症也得到了胸外科界的广泛重视[,欧洲胸科医师学会(European Society of Thoracic Surgeons, ESTS)于2016年成立国际工作组,并将2018年的工作目标确定为制定胸外科围术期VTE预防指南[。Singh等[曾指出胸外科术后PE的紧急处理至关重要,因为在发病后的几小时甚至几分钟内出现的延误诊治极有可能给患者带来严重的后果[。因此,如果能够对胸外科术后PE易患人群的特点有所了解,做到术后予以充分关注,出现问题及时解决具有至关重要的意义。之前有研究对Caprini和Rogers等风险评估模型在筛选胸外科术后静脉血栓栓塞症(venous thromboembolism, VTE)的有效性上进行了验证[。Caprini风险评估模型作为美国胸科医师协会(American College of Chest Physicians, ACCP)抗栓与血栓预防实践指南第九版(ACCP9)中新增的针对非骨科手术患者的VTE风险评估量表[,包含了年龄、BMI、恶性肿瘤等约40个不同的血栓形成危险因素,通过这些危险因素对患者进行VTE风险评分。我们在本研究中也发现,胸外科术后发生PE的患者普遍具有老龄、BMI高以及伴有恶性肿瘤的特点。除上述危险因素外,长期卧床、包括肺炎(1个月内)在内的严重肺部疾病、中心静脉通路、静脉曲张、口服激素替代治疗、下肢水肿、VTE病史及血栓家族史等也均为VTE的危险因素[。此外,另有两篇病例报道描述了1例痛风性关节炎合并PE[以及一例肝硬化应用氰基丙烯酸异丁酯的硬化疗法[合并PE的患者,因此一些既往史中存在的良性疾病也应该引起足够重视。本研究还发现,术后急性PE集中发生在术后第2-6天的范围内,并且相当一部分患者在发病前曾有过排便的病史。这提示我们对于高风险患者,在病情允许的情况下应尽可能让患者在术后前2天内开始下地活动,提早应用抗凝以及下肢间歇充气加压装置等能够降低静脉血栓栓塞发病风险的措施[,及时纠正排便障碍,同时排便后出现的突发呼吸困难对急性PE的诊断也具有提示作用。值得注意的是,虽然上午9点至晚上9点为急性PE的高发时间,但仍然有将近20%的病例发生在夜间9点至第二天上午9点之间,因此胸外科医师应尤其警惕可能发生于夜间的PE,以便发病时能够配备充足的人员及时进行抢救。另外,研究中大部分急性PE术后D-D超过了3.00,而对于肺癌患者,D-D在术后第1天-第7天内呈现升高趋势[,因此对于肺癌患者在术后常规监测D-D变化的过程中如果发现D-D超过了3.00 μg/mL (FEU),需警惕患者可能已经形成VTE。此外,34例(91.9%)患者在发病第一时间所做的心电图上V1-V4导联出现了不同程度的T波改变以及ST段异常,这提示心电图对于PE的早期诊断也具有重要价值,尤其当合并右心功能不全时,心电图上常出现多导联T波倒置、S1Q3T3征(即Ⅰ导联S波加深,Ⅲ导联出现Q/q波及T波倒置)、右束支传导阻滞等改变[,3个及以上胸导联出现了T波倒置是PTE后肺动脉压力升高伴右心功能不全强有力的预测指标[。对于已经疑诊PTE的患者,结合2018版PTE诊治与预防指南以及胸外科疾病诊疗过程的特点,其确诊及治疗流程详见图 4[。术后急性PE发病早期的诊断可以依据临床症状及体征、D-D及心电图表现进行初步判定,高度疑诊后应立即采取措施积极处理,包括卧床制动,面罩吸氧,必要时气管插管机械辅助通气。急性PTE临床高度疑诊后,建议病情允许时在等待诊断过程中开始应用普通肝素(unfractionated heparin, UFH)或低分子肝素(low-molecular-weight heparin, LMWH)等胃肠外抗凝治疗。病情平稳后应尽早完善金标准检查CTPA以明确诊断并指导后续治疗。在本研究中,29例患者通过CTPA确诊PE,其余8例患者在发病当时经抢救无效死亡,未来得及通过CTPA等检查确诊,因此临床诊断PE。确诊后应尽早启动抗凝治疗,如果选择华法林长期抗凝,需在应用胃肠外抗凝的同时重叠华法林,根据凝血功能逐渐调整华法林剂量,使INR维持在2.0-3.0之间停用胃肠外抗凝;如果选用利伐沙班或阿哌沙班,使用初期需给予负荷剂量,例如:利伐沙班15 mg日二次餐中口服3周,3周后改为20 mg日一次餐中口服。如果选择达比加群或依度沙班,应先给予胃肠外抗凝药物至少5 d。溶栓治疗只有在急性高危(即血流动力学不稳定)的PTE患者中推荐应用。
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PTE患者的确诊及治疗流程
Flow chart of diagnosis and treatment for patients with PTE. CTPA: computed tomographic pulmonary angiography; CUS: compression venous ultrasonography; MRPA: magnetic resonance pulmonary angiography; PTE: pulmonary thromboembolism; DVT: deep vein thrombosis; VTE: venous thromboembolism.
PTE患者的确诊及治疗流程Flow chart of diagnosis and treatment for patients with PTE. CTPA: computed tomographic pulmonary angiography; CUS: compression venous ultrasonography; MRPA: magnetic resonance pulmonary angiography; PTE: pulmonary thromboembolism; DVT: deep vein thrombosis; VTE: venous thromboembolism.综上所述,每名胸外科医师必须充分掌握术后PE的临床特点及诊治方法,及早发现诊断并采取多学科治疗能大大提高疾病的生存率。