Some aspects related to mortality from pulmonary thromboembolism

Introduction: 15 % of sudden unexplained death is caused by pulmonary thromboembolism, the undiagnosed mortality rate can reach 30 %. Objective: Describing some aspects related to mortality from pulmonary thromboembolism. Methods: A retrospective and descriptive study was carried out at the ¨Aleida Fernández Chardiet¨ Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital, Mayabeque provinces, from January 2012 to January 2013. The study universe was 130 deaths from pulmonary thromboembolism, according to the medical death certificates and medical records. The results are presented in absolute and relative frequency. Results: The predominant comorbidities were arterial hypertension in 48.4%, heart failure in 40% and ischemic heart disease in 24.62%. 69.2% presented one or more of the risk factors. 73% had some type of prophylaxis. The most significant hospital stay between 15 and 21 days 40%. There was clinic-pathological correlation in the 37.6%. Conclusions: Despite the diagnostic methods present in clinical practice and thromboprophylactic therapy in hospitalized patients, pulmonary thromboembolism is a highly lethal disease and should always be suspected among risk groups. It is important to perform an autopsy to confirm the clinical diagnosis.