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WEDNESDAY, May 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Patients with COVID-19 with a body mass index (BMI) >30 kg\/m\u00b2 have increased odds of developing pulmonary embolism (PE), according to a research letter published online May 14 in Radiology<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Neo Poyiadi, M.D., from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and colleagues assessed the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients who developed PE in a retrospective analysis involving 328 COVID-19 patients who underwent pulmonary computed tomography (CT) angiography.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that 22 percent of the patients had PE. Patients with a BMI >30 kg\/m\u00b2 were observed more often in the PE versus the non-PE group (58 versus 44 percent). Compared with the non-PE cohort, fewer patients with PE were on statin therapy prior to admission (27 versus 46 percent). In a multivariate model, patients taking statin therapy prior to admission had significantly reduced odds of developing PE (adjusted odds ratio, 0.4), while those with a BMI >30 kg\/m\u00b2 had an adjusted odds ratio of 2.7. The odds ratio was 4.8 for PE with a 6 \u00b5g\/mL increase in D-dimer. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.86 for the multivariable model. A D-dimer of 3.11 \u00b5g\/mL had sensitivity and specificity of 78 and 81 percent, respectively, for development of PE (AUC, 0.85).<\/p>\n
“Our study, in conjunction with recent and future studies, may prompt early evaluation with pulmonary CT angiography in COVID-19 patients who are at increased risk for developing pulmonary embolism based on demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables,” the authors write.<\/p>\n