RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The objective of our work is to study the clinical features and the management of pulmonary embolism in a cardiology department. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It is a retrospective study including 43 patients between 1993 and 2003 in the cardiology department of a Tunisian hospital for acute pulmonary embolism. RESULTS: The most common clinical signs were dyspnea, pleural pain and deep venous thrombosis. The most common physical signs were tachypnea and tachycardia. Electrocardiographic abnormalities were found in 38 patients (88.4%). Chest X-ray was abnormal in 25 patients (60.5%). The arterial blood gas found hypoxia and\or hypocapnia in 95% of cases. D-dimer was high in almost totality of patients (96%). US doppler of deep leg veins was positive in more than 40% of patients. Transthoracic echocardiography was normal in more than 40% of the patients. Lung scan noted a high or very high probability in 87% of cases. Pulmonary helical CT was positive in majority of cases. Unfractionated heparin was administered to about 75% of patients and low-molecular-weight-heparin was prescribed at only 40% of patients. CONCLUSION: Management of pulmonary embolism in our cardiology department is characterized by the frequent use of non invasive techniques on the diagnostic view and appeal to heparine on the therapeutic view.