Incidencia de tromboembolismo pulmonar diagnosticado por angiotomografía computarizada, Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga, Cuenca. Octubre 2017 - marzo 2018

Abstract

BACKGROUND The pulmonary embolism (PE) is considered to be the third cause of death at a cardiovascular level only after coronary artery disease and strokes; at a global level it appears in approximately 1 in every 1000 habitants a year. Autopsy studies indicate that PE is a 15% contributor or principal cause of death; in fatal cases more than half occur during the first hour of presentation. CT Angiography is considered to be the “gold standard” for the diagnostic of this pathology. OBJECTIVE Determine the incidence of pulmonary embolism diagnosed by CT Angiography in patients that attend to the Hospital Jose Carrasco Arteaga, Cuenca, October 2017 - March 2018. METHODOLOGY A prospective descriptive study was carried out based on data obtained from a universe conformed by 61 patients. The recollected information was tabulated and analyzed with accordance to the variables, utilizing the programs SPSS V23 and Microsoft Excel 2016. RESULTS Of the 61 evaluated patients, 32 (52.5%) were diagnosed with PE, of this group 59.4% are female. The incidence was major in adults older than 70 years (62%). Half of the patients were issued from the emergency area, followed by hospitalized patients that represent 31.3%. In 65.6% of the patients the thrombus was found occluding both pulmonary arteries, those of which in their majority were classified as an acute type with 17 cases (53.1%). Dyspnoea was the motive of the more recurring query being present in 50% of the cases.