Full Length ArticlePulmonary embolism prognostic factors and length of hospital stay: A cohort study

- Length of hospital stay was not influenced by single or combined PE prognostic markers.
- NEWS, a non PE-specific validated score, was associated with length of hospital stay.
- A time-dependent trend towards a reduction of hospital stay duration was found.

IntroductionPatients with pulmonary embolism (PE) are commonly admitted to hospital for their initial treatment. We aimed to assess the association of length of hospital stay with commonly available clinical variables and their combinations.MethodsA retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted on consecutive PE patients admitted to eight Italian centers. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between the length of hospital stay and the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) parameters, National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and other possible determinants.ResultsWe enrolled 391 patients, with a median hospital stay of 10 days (IQR 7-14). Among PESI parameters, only oxygen saturation < 90% was significantly associated with length of hospital stay at univariable analysis (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.3-3.2). At multivariable analysis, NEWS ≥ 5 was associated with prolonged hospitalization (OR 3.14; 95% CI 1.2-8.3). A difference of median hospital stay was found between simplified PESI high and low risk groups (10 and 9 days, respectively, p = 0.027).DiscussionThe median duration of hospital stay was generally long and not influenced by single parameters of PESI or common prognostic factors. The difference of one day between the low- and high-risk groups according to simplified PESI was not clinically significant.