Table 1.
Characteristics of deaths due to fatal PE and other causes. APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; sd, standard deviation; IQR, inter-quartile range; ICP, intracranial pressure; ISS, Injury Severity Score. #P-values generated by the Mann–Whitney test
| Variable | Fatal PE (n=16) | Other causes (n=118) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr) (range) | 51.3 (21–92) | 36.7 (13–90) | 0.018 |
| Male [no. (%)] | 12 (75) | 85 (72) | 1.000 |
| Head injuries [no. (%)] | 9 (56.3) | 116 (89.8) | 0.002 |
| ICP monitor [no. (%)] | 6 (37.5) | 91 (77.1) | 0.002 |
| Chest injuries [no. (%)] | 10 (62.5) | 74 (62.7) | 1.000 |
| Lower limb long-bone fractures [no. (%)] | 3 (18.8) | 28 (23.7) | 1.000 |
| Spinal fractures [no. (%)] | 5 (31.3) | 28 (23.7) | 0.541 |
| Abdominal injuries [no. (%)] | 3 (18.8) | 27 (22.9) | 1.000 |
| Pelvic fractures [no. (%)] | 3 (18.8) | 24 (20.3) | 1.000 |
| BMI (sd) (median, IQR) | 31.8 (4.0) (31.2, 29–35) | 24.5 (4.1) (24.0, 21–26) | 0.001 |
| ISS (sd) | 27.8 (9.4) | 38.2 (11.9) | 0.001 |
| Prophylactic heparin [no. (%)] | 7 (43.8) | 12 (0.9) | 0.001 |
| Charlson's index (sd) (median, IQR) | 1.1 (2.2) (0, 0–2) | 0.2 (0.6) (0, 0–0) | 0.003# |
| Past medical conditions [no. (%)] | |||
| COPD | 3 (19) | 1 (1) | 0.005 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 2 (13) | 3 (3) | 0.108 |
| Hypertension | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 1.000 |
| Congestive heart failure | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | 1.000 |
| Any tumour | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | 0.119 |
| Liver disease | 2 (13) | 1 (1) | 0.038 |
| Alcoholism | 1 (6) | 4 (3) | 0.476 |
| Drug use | 0 (0) | 3 (3) | 1.000 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 0 (0) | 3 (3) | 1.000 |
| Renal disease | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | 0.119 |
| Depression | 1 (6) | 2 (2) | 0.319 |
| APACHE II-predicted mortality [% (sd)] (median, IQR) | 15.4 (13.4) (14, 4–19) | 32.0 (16.8) (28, 20–45) | 0.001# |
| Head injury prediction model mortality risk [% (sd)] (median, IQR) | 23.4 (16.1) (22, 7–35) | 51.4 (23.2) (56, 38–70) | 0.001# |
| Predicted mortality by combining ISS, APACHE II risk, and head injury prediction model risk [% (sd)] (median, IQR) | 17.8 (22.9) (8, 4–22) | 66.6 (32.3) (79, 43–94) | 0.001# |