Clinical profile, management and outcomes of patients with pulmonary embolism: a retrospective tertiary centre study in Angola

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially fatal disease. In Angola, few data are available on its occurrence. The aim of the study was to characterise the clinical profile, management and outcomes of patients with PE. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted at the Girassol Clinic in Luanda, Angola. The medical records of patients admitted to the intensive care unit were analysed from 2011 to 2015. RESULTS: Fifty patients were included and the median age was 50.5 ± 17.8 years. Dyspnoea and immobilisation for more than 72 hours were the most frequently seen risk factors at admission; 28% of the patients had massive PE, 36% sub-massive PE, 28% were haemodynamically unstable at admission and 30% had a very high risk of mortality. The in-hospital mortality rate was 20%. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical characteristics of our patients were similar to those described in the literature. The high prevalence of patients with very high risk at admisson highlights the need to investigate the cause of worst cardiovascular disease outcomes in Africans.