Background: Assessment of bleeding risk in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) is challenging. Recently, the VTE-BLEED score was shown to predict major bleeding. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the VTE-BLEED score and assess the prognostic impact of major bleeding in a real-world cohort of PE patients. Methods: Consecutive PE patients included in a prospective single-center cohort study between 09/2008 and 11/2016 were eligible for analysis; patients treated with thrombolysis were excluded. The VTE-BLEED was calculated post-hoc; in-hospital major bleeding was defined using the ISTH definition. Results: Overall, 522 patients (median age 69, IQR 56-78 years; 53% female) were included in the present analysis; major bleeding occurred in 18 (3.5%) patients. A VTE-BLEED score ≥2 points identified patients at high-risk for major bleeding (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.1-13.0, sensitivity 83%, specificity 42%). Additionally, a GFR b30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.8-19.8) and previous surgery (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.4-9.3) were associated with major bleeding. A less frequent use of unfractionated heparin as initial treatment was associated with a decrease of major bleeding over time. Major bleeding was identified as strong predictor of inhospital (OR 7.7, 95% CI 2.3-25.8) and 1-year mortality (HR 3.6, 95% CI 2.0-6.6), especially in normotensive patients (OR 12.1, 95% CI 3.5-43.0 and HR 6.0, 95% CI 2.9-12.6, respectively). Conclusions: In a real-world cohort, the VTE-BLEED score identified PE patients at risk for in-hospital major bleeding. However, for assessment of bleeding risk, renal function and previous surgery should be considered. Major bleeding emerged as strong predictor of in-hospital and 1-year mortality.

BackgroundAlthough prior studies indicate a high prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE), the exact prevalence and prognostic impact are unknown.MethodsWe aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and prognostic impact of AF on risk stratification, in‐hospital adverse outcomes and mortality in 528 consecutive PE patients enrolled in a single‐centre registry between 09/2008 and 09/2017.ResultsOverall, 52 patients (9.8%) had known AF and 57 (10.8%) presented with AF on admission; of those, 34 (59.6%) were newly diagnosed with AF. Compared to patients with no AF, overt hyperthyroidism was associated with newly diagnosed AF (OR 7.89 [2.99–20.86]), whilst cardiovascular risk comorbidities were more frequently observed in patients with known AF. Patients with AF on admission had more comorbidities, presented more frequently with tachycardia and elevated cardiac biomarkers and were hence stratified to higher risk classes. However, AF on admission had no impact on in‐hospital adverse outcome (8.3%) and in‐hospital mortality (4.5%). In multivariate logistic regression analyses corrected for AF on admission, NT‐proBNP and troponin elevation as well as higher risk classes in risk assessment models remained independent predictors of an in‐hospital adverse outcome.ConclusionAtrial fibrillation is a frequent finding in PE, affecting more than 10% of patients. However, AF was not associated with a higher risk of in‐hospital adverse outcomes and did not affect the prognostic performance of risk assessment strategies. Thus, our data support the use of risk stratification tools for patients with acute PE irrespective of the heart rhythm on admission.

Background: Arterial lactate is an established risk marker in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). However, its clinical applicability is limited by the need of an arterial puncture. In contrast, venous lactate can easily be measured from blood samples obtained via routine peripheral venepuncture. Methods: We investigated the prognostic value of venous lactate with regard to in-hospital adverse outcomes and mortality in 419 consecutive PE patients enrolled in a single-center registry between 09/2008 and 09/2017. Results: An optimised venous lactate cut-off value of 3.3 mmol/l predicted both, in-hospital adverse outcome ) and all-cause mortality ). The established cut-off value for arterial lactate (2.0 mmol/l) and the upper limit of normal for venous lactate (2.3 mmol/l) had lower prognostic value for adverse outcomes (OR 3.6 [95% CI 1.5-8.7] and 5.7 [95% CI 2.4-13.6], respectively) and did not predict mortality. If added to the 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) algorithm, venous lactate <2.3 mmol/l was associated with a high negative predictive value (0.99 [95% CI 0.97-1.00]) for adverse outcomes in intermediate-low-risk patients, whereas levels ≥3.3 mmol/l predicted adverse outcomes in the intermediatehigh-risk group ). Conclusion: Venous lactate above the upper limit of normal was associated with increased risk for adverse outcomes and an optimised cut-off value of 3.3 mmol/l predicted adverse outcome and mortality. Adding venous lactate to the 2019 ESC algorithm may improve risk stratification. Importantly, the established cut-off value for arterial lactate has limited specificity in venous samples and should not be used.

AimsRight atrial (RA) dilation and stretch provide prognostic information in patients with cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the prevalence, confounding factors and prognostic relevance of RA dilation in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE).MethodsOverall, 609 PE patients were consecutively included in a prospective single-centre registry between 09/2008 and 08/2017. Volumetric measurements of heart chambers were performed on routine non-electrocardiographic-gated computed tomography (CT) and plasma concentrations of mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) measured on admission. An in-hospital adverse outcome was defined as PE-related death, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation or catecholamine administration.ResultsPatients with an adverse outcome (11.2%) had larger RA volumes (median 120 [IQR 84–152] versus 102 [78–134] mL; p=0.013), RA/LA volume ratios (1.7 [1.2–2.4] versus 1.3 [1.1–1.7]; p<0.001) and MR-proANP levels (282 [157–481] versus 129 [64–238] pmol·L−1; p<0.001) compared to patients with a favourable outcome. Overall, 499 patients (81.9%) had a RA/LA volume ratio ≥1.0 and a calculated cut-off value of 1.8 (AUC 0.64 [95%CI 0.56–0.71]) predicted an adverse outcome, both in unselected (OR 3.1, 95%CI 1.9–5.2) and normotensive patients (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.3–5.6). MR-proANP ≥120 pmol·L−1 was identified as an independent predictor of an adverse outcome, both in unselected (OR 4.6, 95%CI 2.3–9.3) and normotensive patients (OR 5.1, 95%CI 1.5–17.6).ConclusionsRA dilation is a frequent finding in patients with PE. However, the prognostic performance of RA dilation appears inferior compared to established risk stratification markers. MR-proANP predicted an in-hospital adverse outcome, both in unselected and normotensive PE patients, integrating different prognostic relevant information from comorbidities.

Aims The 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines provide a revised definition of high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) encompassing three clinical presentations: Cardiac arrest, obstructive shock, and persistent hypotension. This study investigated the prognostic implications of this new definition. Methods and results Data from 784 consecutive PE patients prospectively enrolled in a single-centre registry were analysed. Study outcomes include an in-hospital adverse outcome (PE-related death or cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and in-hospital all-cause mortality. Overall, 86 patients (11.0%) presented with high-risk PE and more often had an adverse outcome (43.0%) compared to intermediate-high-risk patients (6.1%; P &lt; 0.001). Patients with cardiac arrest had the highest rate of an in-hospital adverse outcome (78.4%) and mortality (59.5%; both P &lt; 0.001 compared to intermediate-high-risk patients). Obstructive shock and persistent hypotension had similar rates of adverse outcomes (15.8% and 18.2%, respectively; P = 0.46), but the only obstructive shock was associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk. Use of an optimised venous lactate cut-off value (3.8 mmol/L) to diagnose obstructive shock allowed differentiation of adverse outcome risk between patients with shock (21.4%) and persistent hypotension (9.5%), resulting in a net reclassification improvement (0.24 ± 0.08; P = 0.002). Conclusion The revised ESC 2019 guidelines definition of high-risk PE stratifies subgroups at different risk of in-hospital adverse outcomes and all-cause mortality. Risk prediction can be improved by using an optimised venous lactate cut-off value to diagnose obstructive shock, which might help to better assess the risk-to-benefit ratio of systemic thrombolysis in different subgroups of high-risk patients.