Acute Pulmonary Embolism in the COVID-19 Era: The Experience of a Ghanaian Patient

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in profound changes in healthcare delivery, some based on official reforms and others driven by healthcare professionals’ fear of exposure to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Many patients require screening tests of one form or the other before being attended to in hospitals. The protean clinical manifestations of this highly transmissible infection require that a high index of suspicion be maintained. Pulmonary embolism is a potentially fatal emergency whose presentation is mimicked by COVID-19. Delays in ruling out COVID-19 may result in undue delays in initiating treatment for pulmonary embolism, potentially resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. This article presents a patient whose treatment for acute pulmonary embolism was forestalled by delays in getting the polymerase chain reaction test for COVID-19 done. It reiterates the need for physicians to test promptly in order to allow early focus on differential diagnoses which were routinely being investigated promptly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impact of COVID-19 Era on Pulmonary Embolism Patients: Increased Incidence of Hospitalizations and Higher Mortality—What Can Be Done?

“…Tilliridou et al, published a retrospective audit in July 2021, which assessed the frequency and severity of pulmonary embolism in 2020 compared to 2019: patients with both PE and COVID-19 had an increased 30-day mortality and worse outcomes compared to those without COVID-19 (28% versus 6%) [23]. Moreover, delays due to COVID-19 protocols all over the world were reported to forestall the treatment for acute pathologies [24].…”