Incidence and Factors Associated With Pulmonary Embolism After Upper Extremity Trauma: A Tertiary Hospital Experience in Turkey

Introduction Venous thromboembolism (VTE), particularly pulmonary embolism (PE), is the third highest cause of death in trauma patients who survive beyond the first day. Musculoskeletal surgery is associated with several complications, some of which may be life-threatening, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and PE. Objective This research aims to describe risk variables for VTE after upper extremity (UE) fracture at a single institution and estimate the incidence of PE following UE fracture. Methods The writers accessed the database via their respective universities using the International Standard Classification (ICD) codes. The medical files of patients aged 18 and older who sought treatment at our emergency department for an injury to their UE and also sought treatment at the orthopedics and traumatology clinic between the years 2013 and 2021 were manually scanned. The patients who applied to the Chest Diseases Clinic within 30 days after the trauma and were diagnosed with PE in the ICD code scan were included in the study. Results UE trauma was the cause of admission to the emergency department for 3,265 patients, and 21 of those patients (0.64%) were found to have PE. Fifteen of the patients were male, and six were female. The median age was 59 years (IQR 17). There were no deaths associated with PE. One of the patients had a scaphoid fracture, seven patients had a humerus fracture, five patients had a distal radius fracture, two patients had an acromioclavicular joint injury, one patient had a shoulder dislocation, one patient had a finger fracture, four patients had wrist crush injury. Three patients had diabetes mellitus. Five patients were active smokers. JAK-2 gene V617F mutation was detected in one patient. One patient was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and one had gastric cancer. One patient had a central venous catheter. Two patients were being treated for hypothyroidism. Two patients had hypertension. Conclusion According to the findings of our research, the probability of developing PE in the days following of an injury to the UE was found to be 0.64%. Patients with UE injuries who are active smokers and who also have diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, cancer, coagulation disorder (JAK2 gene V617F mutation), or a central venous catheter may benefit from anticoagulant prophylaxis. This is because these patients are at a higher risk of developing dangerous blood clots.