Acute pulmonary thromboembolism in Santander

Identifying the magnitude of the problem

Abstract

Introduction: the incidence and mortality attributable to acute pulmonary thromboembolism in the region of Santander, Colombia, are unknown.

Objective: to analyze the incident cases of symptomatic acute pulmonary thromboembolism in the department of Santander which required hospital care, along with their geographic referencing and attributable mortality.

Methods: a retrospective study based on records from 2010 to 2014 from both the Sistema Integral de la Información de la Protección Social de Colombia [Colombian Comprehensive Social Protection Information System] and the Observatorio de Salud Pública de Santander [Public Health Observatory of Santander], along with the statistical departments of nine secondary to quaternary level healthcare institutions. Demographic variables such as place of origin and residence, as well as type of referral and its characteristics, type of medical care required, condition at discharge, and readmissions were analyzed.

Results: a total of 2,879 treatments for acute pulmonary thromboembolism were identified in adults with a median age of 63 years and a female:male ratio of 1.43. The municipalities with the highest incidence were California (1,093 per 100,000 inhab.), Bucaramanga (278 per 100,000 inhab.) and Málaga (257 per 100,000 inhab.). The overall mortality was 8.03 per 100,000 inhab. Only 0.7% of the referrals were made through the Centro Regulador de Urgencias [Emergency Dispatch Center]. Only 79 patients (17.52%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. The incidence of pulmonary thromboembolism was directly correlated with the altitude of the place of origin (p= 0.01) and inversely correlated with the time required to reach the referral municipality (p=0.021).

Conclusions: the incidence of pulmonary thromboembolsim in Santander is estimated to be more than double what is reported in other countries and is correlated with the altitude of the patients"(TM) place of origin.