Incidence of acute pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis

•Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequent complication of COVID-19 infection.•The in-hospital incidence of acute PE among COVID-19 patients is higher in ICU patients.•Computed tomography angiography (CTPA) is infrequently performed. Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) has been described as a frequent a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of internal medicine 2020-12, Vol.82, p.29-37
Main Authors: Roncon, Loris, Zuin, Marco, Barco, Stefano, Valerio, Luca, Zuliani, Giovanni, Zonzin, Pietro, Konstantinides, Stavros V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Computed Tomography Angiography
Covid-19
COVID-19 - complications
COVID-19 - diagnosis
Epidemiology
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Incidence
Intensive Care Units - statistics & numerical data
Meta-analysis
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary Embolism - diagnostic imaging
Pulmonary Embolism - epidemiology
Review
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Summary:•Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequent complication of COVID-19 infection.•The in-hospital incidence of acute PE among COVID-19 patients is higher in ICU patients.•Computed tomography angiography (CTPA) is infrequently performed. Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) has been described as a frequent and prognostically relevant complication of COVID-19 infection. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the in-hospital incidence of acute PE among COVID-19 patients based on studies published within four months of COVID-19 outbreak. Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed in abstracting data and assessing validity. We searched Medline, Scopus and Web of Science to locate all articles published up to August 1, 2020 reporting the incidence of acute PE (or lung thrombosis) in COVID-19 patients. The pooled in-hospital incidence of acute PE among COVID-19 patients was calculated using a random effects model and presenting the related 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical heterogeneity was measured using the Higgins I2 statistic. We analysed data from 7178 COVID-19 patients [mean age 60.4 years] included in twenty-three studies. Among patients hospitalized in general wards and intensive care unit (ICU), the pooled in-hospital incidence of PE (or lung thrombosis) was 14.7% of cases (95% CI: 9.9–21.3%, I2=95.0%, p
ISSN:0953-6205
1879-0828
1879-0828
DOI:10.1016/j.ejim.2020.09.006