Effectiveness of a submassive pulmonary embolism protocol to standardise patient evaluation and treatment

Treatment recommendations for submassive pulmonary embolus (SMPE), defined as pulmonary embolus (PE) resulting in right ventricular dysfunction and/or myocardial necrosis, vary. The objective of this study was to develop an investigative protocol at our tertiary care hospital to standardise the approach to patients with SMPE and to evaluate the effect of the protocol on process measures including consultation with cardiology and critical care physicians and time to echocardiogram and treatment. Triggered by right ventricle/left ventricle ratios >0.9, the protocol standardised ancillary studies and immediate consultation with critical care and cardiology. Post-protocol implementation, the percent of patients with SMPE evaluated by critical care specialists increased from 26% (19/74) to 93% (41/44) (p<0.001) and cardiology consultations increased from 35% (26/74) to 89% (39/44) (p<0.001). Patient arrival to echocardiogram was reduced from 15 hours to 5 hours post-protocol implementation. In addition, average time to anticoagulation was reduced from greater than 7 hours to 3 hours 27 min post-protocol implementation. The protocol has helped to identify patients with SMPE and standardise the care they receive after diagnosis.