Clinical characteristics analysis of hospitalized patients with acute pulmonary embolism of different genders of patients in high-altitude areas of Southwest China: a retrospective study

Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a critical and severe respiratory disease with a high mortality rate. The clinical characteristics of APE are known, but more data on the impact of gender on APE are needed. Low oxygen, low pressure, cold, and dry environments in high-altitude areas are associated with the risk of APE. We identified patients with APE in two tertiary medical institutions at high altitudes in southwest China. We compared baseline information, underlying disease (risk factors), symptoms, comorbidities, laboratory tests, echocardiography, risk stratification, treatment, and prognosis between male and female patients, and explored the differences of risk factors with APE patients in the middle-high risk groups of different genders. Among the 507 inpatients with APE, 205 (40.4%) were female. The female participants smoked less and were less prone to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the male group (21.1% vs. 44.4%, p < 0.001). Most of them got obesity, dyslipidemia, operation history within 3 months, and bed rest ≥ 3 days. Dyspnea (62.7% vs. 75.2%, p = 0.003), hemoptysis (11.8% vs. 18.6%, p = 0.039), and swelling of lower limbs were less common in the female group. The levels of hematocrit, hemoglobin, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, CK-MB, PCO 2 , HCO 3 − , and left ventricular diameter (LV) were lower in the female group; on the other hand, the female participants had higher levels of platelets, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, D-dimer, PO 2 , and right ventricular diameter/left ventricular diameter (RV/LV). Women tended to be classified into low-risk group rather than high-risk group and accepted edoxaban more for treatment over warfarin. There were differences in disease risk factors among middle-high-risk APE patients of different genders. Despite these differences, there was no difference in average age, hospital stay, complications, and prognosis between male and female patients with APE. This article is retrospectively registered.