Academic Editor: Jerome L. Fleg
Background: The need for computed tomography pulmonary angiography
(CTPA) to rule out pulmonary embolism (PE) is based on clinical scores in
association with D-dimer measurements. PE is a recognized complication in
patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection due to a pro-thrombotic state which may reduce
the usefulness of preexisting pre-test probability scores. Aim: The
purpose was to analyze new clinical and laboratory parameters while comparing
existing and newly proposed scoring system for PE detection in hospitalized
COVID-19 patients (HCP). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of
270 consecutive HCPs who underwent CTPA due to suspected PE. The Modified Wells,
Revised Geneva, Simplified Geneva, YEARS, 4-Level Pulmonary Embolism Clinical Probability Score (4PEPS), and PE rule-out criteria (PERC) scores were calculated
and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AuROC) was
measured. Results: Overall incidence of PE among our study group of HCPs
was 28.1%. The group of patients with PE had a significantly longer COVID-19
duration upon admission, at 10 vs 8 days, p = 0.006; higher D-dimer
levels of 10.2 vs 5.3