Long-term mortality in patients with pulmonary embolism: results in a single-center registry

Background: While numerous studies have investigated short-term outcomes after pulmonary embolism (PE), long-term mortality remains insufficiently studied.Objectives: To investigate long-term outcomes in an unselected cohort of patients with PE.Methods: A total of 896 consecutive patients with PE enrolled in a single-center registry between May 2005 and December 2017 were followed up for up to 14 years. The observed mortality rate was compared with the expected rate in the general population.Results: The total follow-up time was 3908 patient-years (median, 3.1 years). The 1-and 5-year mortality rates were 19.7% (95% CI, 17.2%-22.4%) and 37.1% (95% CI, 33.6%-40.5%), respectively. The most frequent causes of death were cancer (28.5%), PE (19.4%), infections (13.9%), and cardiovascular events (11.6%). Late mortality (after >30 days) was more frequent than expected in the general population, a finding that was consistent in patients without cancer (the 5-year standardized mortality ratios were 2.77 [95% CI, 2.41-3.16] and 1.80 [95% CI, 1.50-2.14], respectively). Active cancer was the strongest risk factor for death between 30 days and 3 years (hazard ratio [HR], 6.51; 95% CI, 4.67-9.08) but was not associated with later mortality. Death after >3 years was predicted by age (HR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.51-2.29 per decade), chronic heart failure (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.02-2.70), and anemia (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.09-2.41).Conclusion: The risk of mortality in patients with PE remained elevated compared with that in the general population throughout the follow-up period. The main driver of long-term mortality during the first 3 years was cancer. After that, mortality was predicted by age, chronic heart failure, and anemia.