Trends in risk stratification, in-hospital management and mortality of patients with acute pulmonary embolism: an analysis from the China pUlmonary thromboembolism REgistry Study (CURES)

Similar trends of management and in-hospital mortality of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) have been reported in European and American populations. However, these tendencies are not clear in Asian countries. We retrospectively analysed the trends of risk stratification, management and in-hospital mortality for patients with acute PE through a multicentre registry in China (CURES). Adult patients with acute symptomatic PE were included between 2009 and 2015. Trends in disease diagnosis, treatment and death in hospital were fully analysed. Risk stratification was retrospectively classified by haemodynamic status and the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI) score according to the 2014 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society guidelines. Among 7438 patients, the proportions with high (haemodynamic instability), intermediate (sPESI≥1) and low (sPESI=0) risk were 4.2%, 67.1% and 28.7%, respectively. Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography was the most widely used diagnostic approach (87.6%) and anticoagulation was the most frequently adopted initial therapy (83.7%). Between 2009 and 2015, a significant decline was observed for all-cause mortality (from 3.1% to 1.3%, adjusted p for trend =0.0003), with a concomitant reduction in the use of initial systemic thrombolysis (from 14.8% to 5.0%, p for trend <0.0001). The common predictors for all-cause mortality shared by haemodynamically stable and unstable patients were co-existing cancer, older age and impaired renal function. The considerable reduction of mortality over the years was accompanied by changes in initial treatment. These findings highlight the importance of risk stratification-guided management throughout the nation.