Effect of atmospheric pressure changes on the development of pulmonary embolism: a retrospective analysis of 8 years of data.

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a condition with high mortality, and determining its etiology is as important as its treatment. There are limited studies in the literature examining the effect of atmospheric pressure (AP) change on PE.

OBJECTIVES

Analyze the effect of AP level and the change in AP level on the development of PE according to year, season and months.

DESIGN

Retrospective SETTING: Department of tertiary care center PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with diagnosed or presumed PE who were followed up in the Erzurum Atatürk University Medicine Chest Diseases Clinic between 2012 and 2020 (8 years) were retrospectively screened for inclusion in the study by examining hospital records. Daily AP values were obtained electronically through official correspondence with the Erzurum Regional Meteorological Directorate. Patients diagnosed with PE were recorded using the hospital database and anamnesis forms. The dates of admission to hospital were recorded. Risk factors leading to the development of PE were identified using the records.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Relationship between AP values and the incidence of PE.

SAMPLE SIZE

592 RESULTS: AP, AP, and AP were significantly lower on days with PE cases compared to days without PE cases (<.001 for all). ΔAP, ΔAP, and ΔAP values were all negative on days with PE, but only the difference in ΔAP was significant (=.04).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that lower AP values were significantly associated with the incidence of PE. In particular, a drop in AP compared to the previous day seemed to be most associated with PE development.

LIMITATIONS

Retrospective design and only applicable to region.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None.