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Observational Study
. 2020 Aug;103(2):844-846.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0597. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Detection of Pulmonary Embolism in Returning Travelers with Hypoxemic Pneumonia due to COVID-19 in Reunion Island

Kevin Larsen  1 , Nathalie Coolen-Allou  1 , Laurie Masse  1 , Alexandre Angelino  2 , Jérôme Allyn  3 , Lea Bruneau  4   5 , Adrien Maillot  5 , Marie Lagrange-Xelot  6 , Thierry Vitry  2 , Michel André  1 , Jean Yves Travers  2 , Emilie Foch  1 , Nicolas Allou  3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Detection of Pulmonary Embolism in Returning Travelers with Hypoxemic Pneumonia due to COVID-19 in Reunion Island

Kevin Larsen et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of pulmonary embolism in returning travelers with hypoxemic pneumonia due to COVID-19. All returning travelers to Reunion Island with hypoxemic pneumonia due to COVID-19 underwent computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and were included in the cohort. Thirty-five patients were returning travelers with hypoxemic pneumonia due to COVID-19 and had recently returned from one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak (mainly from France and Comoros archipelago). Five patients (14.3%) were found to have pulmonary embolism and two (5.9%) were incidentally found to have deep vein thrombosis on CTPA. Patients with pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis had higher D-dimer levels than those without pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (P = 0.04). Returning travelers with hypoxemic pneumonia due to COVID-19 should be systematically screened for pulmonary embolism.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The present observational study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine (CER-MIT) and was declared to the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (French Data Protection Agency or CNIL MR004, N° 2206739). The need for informed consent was waived, as the study was non-interventional and followed our usual protocol. The dataset used in the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Axial computed tomography pulmonary angiography performed on day 17 after the onset of symptoms. This patient presented with thrombi in both branches of pulmonary artery and aortic arch thrombosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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