Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample
| Characteristic | All (n = 781) | No PE (n = 721) | PE (n = 60) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex (n, %) | 420 (53.8) | 379 (52.6) | 41 (68.3) | 0.03 |
| Age (years) mean (SD) | 62.0 (17.6) | 61.9 (17.7) | 63.3 (16.2) | 0.53 |
| > 50 years (n, %) | 565 (72.3) | 520 (72.1) | 45 (75.0) | 0.74 |
| Body mass index ≥ 30.0 kg/m2 | 92 (11.8) | 86 (11.9) | 6 (10.0) | 0.81 |
| Hypertension (n, %) | 154 (19.7) | 147 (20.4) | 7 (11.7) | 0.14 |
| Diabetes (n, %) | 95 (12.2) | 91 (12.6) | 4 (6.7) | 0.14 |
| Heart failure (n, %) | 42 (5.4) | 40 (5.5) | 2 (3.3) | 0.66 |
| Chronic kidney disease (n, %) | 25 (3.2) | 22 (3.1) | 3 (5.0) | 0.66 |
| Admitted in normal wards (n, %) | 437 (56.0) | 400 (55.5) | 37 (61.7) | 0.43 |
| Admitted to ICU (n, %) | 94 (12.0) | 84 (11.7) | 10 (16.7) | 0.35 |
| Deceased (n, %) | 105 (13.4) | 96 (13.3) | 9 (15.0) | 0.86 |
| D-dimer (ng.mL−1), median (IQR) | 1,269 (759–2,228) | 1,198 (730–1,966) | 4,013 (2,279–5,378) | < 0.001 |
| C-reactive protein (mg.L−1), median (IQR) | 67 (22–92) (n = 748) | 63 (21–88) (n = 689) | 122 (42–133) (n = 59) | < 0.001 |
| C-reactive protein to D-dimer ratio, median (IQR) (× 100) | 4.4 (1.3–7.5) (n = 748) | 4.6 (1.4–7.7) (n = 689) | 2.2 (1.0–4.5) (n = 59) | 0.002 |