Sarcopenia influences usage of reperfusion treatment in patients with pulmonary embolism aged 75 years and older

Background

Although pulmonary embolism (PE) and sarcopenia are common diseases, only a few studies have assessed the impact of sarcopenia in PE on usage of reperfusion treatments in PE.

Methods

All hospitalizations of PE patients aged ≥75 years 2005–2020 in Germany were included in this study and stratified for sarcopenia. Impact of sarcopenia on treatment procedures and adverse in-hospital events were investigated.

Results

Overall, 576,364 hospitalizations of PE patients aged ≥75 years (median age 81.0 [78.0–85.0] years; 63.3 % females) were diagnosed in Germany during the observational period 2005–2020. Among these, 2357 (0.4 %) were coded with sarcopenia. PE patients with sarcopenia were in median 2 years older (83.0 [79.0–87.0] vs. 81.0 [78.0–85.0] years, P<0.001) and showed an aggravated comorbidity-profile (Charlson Comorbidity Index 7.00 [5.00–9.00] vs. 6.00 [4.00–7.00], P<0.001). Although signs of hemodynamic compromise such as shock (5.2 % vs. 4.1 %, P=0.005) and tachycardia (4.1 % vs. 2.8 %, P<0.001) were more prevalent in sarcopenic PE patients, systemic thrombolysis (1.9 % vs. 3.5 %, P<0.001) was less often used in these patients. Sarcopenia was independently related to an underuse of systemic thrombolysis (OR 0.537 [95 %CI 0.398–0.725], P<0.001). This underuse might driven by higher rates of bleeding events (gastro-intestinal bleeding: 3.1 % vs. 1.9 %, P<0.001, necessity of transfusion of blood constituents: 18.9 % vs. 11.3 %, P<0.001), but also stroke (5.6 % vs. 3.3 %, P<0.001).

Conclusions

Sarcopenia represents a widely overlooked condition in PE patients. Although sarcopenic PE patients were more often afflicted by hemodynamic compromise, systemic thrombolysis was less often administered. This underuse might be caused by contraindications like bleeding events and stroke.