{ event: "article_read", name: `Changing trends in VTE: Pulmonary Embolism cases on Rise within the Last Decade`, author: ``, tags: `Cardiovascular | Thrombosis`, publication_date: ``, interaction_type: "content" }
Changing trends in VTE: Pulmonary Embolism cases on Rise within the Last Decade
Danish study finds more elderly and patients with comorbidities being diagnosed.
Key Takeaway
Analysis of nationwide data suggests a significant increase in age- and sex- standardized hospitalisation rates of first-time venous thromboembolism (VTE), due to a marked increase in rate of pulmonary embolism, in Denmark within the last decade.
This increase could reflect both, a real increase in the incidence of VTE and increased diagnostic awareness.
Additionally, risk profile of this patient population with VTE has changed temporally with more elderly and patients with comorbidities being diagnosed.
Why This Matters
These findings resemble previously reported evidence from Tromsø cohort study (1996–2012) and Worcester VTE-study (1985–2009).
This strongly indicates that the observed development in VTE incidence most likely represents a real and widespread phenomenon.
Study Design
This population-based study identified 67,426 patients (age, ≥18 years) with a first-time VTE hospitalisation at any Danish hospital between 2006 and 2015 from the Danish National Patient Registry.
Age- and sex-standardised yearly hospitalisation rates for first-time VTE were calculated.
57.3% of patients (n=38,656) redeemed an anticoagulant drug prescription within 30 days of first VTE diagnosis.
Funding: Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer.
Key Results
The age- and sex-standardised hospitalisation rate of first time VTE increased from 12.6 (95% CI, 12.3–12.9) per 10,000 person-years at risk in 2006 to 15.1 (95% CI, 14.7–15.4) per 10,000 person-years at risk in 2015, corresponding to a 19.8% increase in the rate of VTE.
First-time hospitalisation for pulmonary embolism increased by 73.9% whereas for deep vein thrombosis dropped by 11.8%.
Similar time trends were observed in analysis limited to patients whose validity of VTE diagnosis was supported by ≥1 filled prescription for an anticoagulant.
The risk profile of patients changed during the study period:
mean age in the overall VTE population increased from 63.5 (standard deviation [SD], 17.2) years in 2006 to 65.7 (SD, 16.5) years in 2015,
comorbidity burden increased with proportion of patients with a Charlson's Comorbidity Index score of ≥1 increasing from 29.0% in 2006 to 46.0% in 2015.
Diagnostic work seemed to change during the study period with:
proportion of patients being examined with CT scanning or pulmonary angiography increased from 13.9% to 42.8%,
use of ventilation/perfusion lung scan dropped from 22.5% to 15.5%.
Limitations
Only VTE events leading to hospitalisation were included.
Lack of data for use of oral contraceptives.
Some cases of pulmonary embolism might have been missed because of low autopsy rates in Denmark.
Possible misclassification of VTE diagnosis in administrative registries.
Münster AM, Rasmussen TB, Falstie-Jensen AM, Harboe L, Stynes G, Dybro L, Hansen ML, Brandes A, Grove EL, Johnsen SP. A changing landscape: Temporal trends in incidence and characteristics of patients hospitalized with venous thromboembolism 2006-2015. Thromb Res. 2019;176:46-53. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2019.02.009. PMID: 30776687
By clicking on this link, you will be leaving Campus Sanofi website and going to another, entirely independent website. Please note: Sanofi provides these links as a service to its website visitors and users; however, Sanofi takes no responsibility for the information on any website but their own.
