Global reporting of pulmonary embolism–related deaths in the World Health Organization mortality database: Vital registration data from 123 countries

Abstract

Introduction Pulmonary embolism (PE) has not been accounted for as a cause of death contributing to cause‐specific mortality in global reports. Methods We analyzed global PE‐related mortality by focusing on the latest year available for each member state in the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database, which provides age‐sex–specific aggregated mortality data transmitted by national authorities for each underlying cause of death. PE‐related deaths were defined by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes for acute PE or nonfatal manifestations of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2001 WHO standard population served for standardization. Results We obtained data from 123 countries covering a total population of 2 602 561 422. Overall, 50 (40.6%) were European, 39 (31.7%) American, 13 (10.6%) Eastern Mediterranean, 13 (10.6%) Western Pacific, 3 (2.4%) Southeast Asian, and 2 (1.6%) African. Of 116 countries classifiable according to population income, 57 (49.1%) were high income, 42 (36.2%) upper‐middle income, 14 (12.1%) lower‐middle income, and 3 (2.6%) low income. A total of 18 726 382 deaths were recorded, of which 86 930 (0.46%) were attributed to PE. PE‐related mortality rate increased with age in most countries. The reporting of PE‐related deaths was heterogeneous, with an age‐standardized mortality rate ranging from 0 to 24 deaths per 100 000 population‐years. Income status only partially explained this heterogeneity. Conclusions Reporting of PE‐related mortality in official national vital registration was characterized by extreme heterogeneity across countries. These findings mandate enhanced efforts toward systematic and uniform coverage of PE‐related mortality and provides a case for full recognition of PE and VTE as a primary cause of death.

An update on the global use of risk assessment models and thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized patients with medical illnesses from the World Thrombosis Day steering committee: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Moreover, we found that the use of adequate thromboprophylaxis still markedly varied across geographic regions, ranging from 38% in Asia to 69% in North America. This may be due to several factors, including national guidelines, VTE awareness, 14 health care standards, variable VTE prevalence among regions, 2 and reimbursement system. 15 In contrast, we could not find major deviations from model to model, indicating that thromboprophylaxis was given to a similar percentage of patients irrespective of the model that had been used.…”

“…Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 1,2 VTE impairs patient prognosis and causes patient discomfort, longer hospitalizations, and higher health care costs. [3][4][5] The majority of VTE events are hospital-associated, occurring during hospitalization or within 90 days of hospital discharge 6 :…”

“…Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality 1,2 . VTE impairs patient prognosis and causes patient discomfort, longer hospitalizations, and higher health care costs 3–5 .…”

“…Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 1 , 2 VTE impairs patient prognosis and causes patient discomfort, longer hospitalizations, and higher health care costs. 3 , 4 , 5 The majority of VTE events are hospital‐associated, occurring during hospitalization or within 90 days of hospital discharge 6 : with more than 20 million hospital admissions in the European Union and around 35 million in the United States per year, 7 , 8 there is an urgent need to tackle this issue on a global scale.…”

Pharmacological Investigation of Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. for its Potential Against Thrombosis in Experimental Models

“…5 Awareness campaigns, especially the "World Thrombosis Day" initiated globally, brought awareness to the general community, medical professionals, and stakeholders about the burden of thrombosis and promoted wide implementation of available management policies. 6 Thrombogenesis is a critical condition that should be targeted at multiple levels since only anticoagulation seems insufficient. Agents in practice for prevention of cardiovascular events act either on the risk factors of atherosclerosis or directly on thrombosis.…”