Pulmonary embolus in patients with COVID-19: an Australian perspective

Danielle H Robinson; Hari Wimaleswaran; Christine F McDonald; Mark E Howard; Abbey Willcox

doi:10.1111/imj.15405

Pulmonary embolus in patients with COVID-19: an Australian perspective

Intern Med J. 2021 Aug;51(8):1324-1327. doi: 10.1111/imj.15405.

Authors

Danielle H Robinson¹, Hari Wimaleswaran^{2

3

4}, Christine F McDonald^{2

3}, Mark E Howard^{2

3

4}, Abbey Willcox^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Haematology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Pulmonary embolus (PE) is a known complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The diagnosis of PE in our hospitalised patients with COVID-19 correlated with more severe disease and occurred despite the use of routine thromboprophylaxis. Higher D-dimers were seen on admission in patients who developed PE and rose at PE diagnosis, suggesting a role for D-dimer in risk stratification.

Keywords: COVID-19; D-dimer; pulmonary embolism; thrombosis.

MeSH terms

Anticoagulants
Australia / epidemiology
COVID-19* / complications
Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products
Humans
Pulmonary Embolism* / diagnostic imaging
Pulmonary Embolism* / epidemiology
Retrospective Studies
Venous Thromboembolism* / diagnostic imaging
Venous Thromboembolism* / epidemiology

Substances

Anticoagulants
Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products