Clinical Features and Risk Factors of 134 HA-PTE Patients

<i>Objective</i>: The objective of this study was to determine the clinical features and risk factors for hospital-associated pulmonary thromboembolism (HA-PTE) in Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province. <i>Methods</i>: The clinical data of 513 pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) patients who were admitted to Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province in from January 1st, 2020, to December 31st, 2022, were retrospectively analyzed. The HA-PTE group and the community-associated PTE (CA-PTE) group were classified according to whether these disorders occurred during hospitalization or within a 90-day period of admission to the hospital (including inpatients with at least two days of hospitalization stay or a surgical procedure under or regional anesthesia). Differences in clinical features, risk factors and other indicators were also analyzed between the two groups. <i>Results</i>: A total of 513 patients with acute PTE were analyzed in the present study. Among them, 134 patients had HA-PTE, and 379 patients had CA-PTE. Patients in the HA-PTE group had less dyspnea or hemoptysis and more fever and chest pain. The all-cause mortality rate in the HA-PTE group was greater than that in the CA-PTE group, but it was not statistically significant. In comparison to community-acquired pulmonary thromboembolism (CA-PTE), long-term bed rest, active malignancy, lung infection, acute cerebral infarction, and fracture were observed as more prevalent risk factors in the hospital-acquired pulmonary thromboembolism (HA-PTE) group. Additionally, recent surgery (within one month post-operation) and central venous catheterization were identified as independent risk factors in the HA-PTE group. According to the subgroup analysis of the HA-PTE group, the all-cause mortality rate of patients who experienced HA-PTE in the hospital was lower than that of patients who experienced HA-PTE which in 90 days after admission (1.56% versus 2.85%, respectively); however, the difference was not statistically significant. <i>Conclusion</i>: More than half of the HA-PTE events were associated with recent hospitalization. HA-PTE and CA-PTE have different risk factors; when combined with different clinical symptoms, they have a higher incidence of HA-PTE occurring in the hospital. More attention should be given to inpatients to reduce the incidence of HA-PTE.