An analysis of 24 patients with acute fatal pulmonary thromboembolism

Objective To study the early diagnosis,treatment,and prevention of acute fatal pulmonary thromboembolism(PTE), which is manifested in clinical as severe dyspnea, sudden cardiac arrest, syncope, shock or admitted to ICU. Methods Original pattern, clinical manifestations, lab examinations (such as D-dimer, ABG, echocardiography CTPA and V/Q scan), treatment and prognosis of twenty-four patients diagnosed as acute fatal PTE in Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital from March 2002 to June 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results Eleven patients received emergency thrombolytic therapy while the others only received anti-coagulation therapy. In patients who received thrombolytic therapy, nine (81.8%) were alleviated and had good prognosis, two died. In patients who only received anti-coagulation therapy, nine(69.2%) got better in clinical symptoms; four patients were discharged automaticly as terminal of SLE or lung carcinoma. Conclusion Acute fatal PTE is a severe disease that is always threating patients' life and causes sudden death. Early diagnosis and quickly efficient treatment,such as thrombolysis,is key to preventing death and increasing life quality.