Pulmonary Thromboembolism in COVID-19: a Cohort Analysis from a Tertiary Hospital in Chile/ Detección de tromboembolismo pulmonar en pacientes con COVID-19: descripción de una cohorte en un hospital terciario chileno

Introduction: The risk of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in hospitalized patients is well known, but SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased its incidence, with varying evidence describing a prevalence of PTE of 3-8%. Methodology: Description of non-concurrent longitudinal cohort of hospitalized patients for SARS-COV2 infection with PTE in a tertiary complexity hospital. Clinical and epidemiological features were analyzed. Results: 151 patients were recruited with PTE and COVID-19 diagnosis, 3.4% of all hospitalized COVID patients. The median age was 67 years, 63% male patients, median length-of-stay (LOS) 20 days, and median time between COVID-19 to PTE diagnosis 13 days. Mortality at 30 days was PTE 17%, in-hospital mortality 23.1%. Mean PESI 107, Mean PESI of the deceased 116. Invasive mechanical ventilation prevalence was 31%. Discussion: 3.4% incidence of PTE in the cohort is in the lower incidence described in other centers, considering that there was no systematic search strategy for PTE. The increased risk of in-hospital mortality and overall mortality is an alert on the possible clinical impact and may indicate the need for closer surveillance in this population.