Venous thromboembolic outcomes in patients with lymphedema and lipedema: An analysis from the National Inpatient Sample.

BACKGROUND: Patients with lymphedema and lipedema share physical exam findings that may lead to misdiagnosis. Poor mobility is common in patients with obesity and patients with lymphedema and lipedema. This may constitute a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Our objective was to evaluate the association of VTE in obese patients with lymphedema and lipedema. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was searched from 2016 to 2020 to identify hospital admissions of obese female patients with lymphedema and lipedema. Patients were analyzed in the context of presence or absence of VTE while adjusting for complex cluster sampling techniques. Predictors of VTE were accessed by multivariable regression. RESULTS: Lymphedema was identified in 189,985 patients and lipedema in 50,645 patients. VTE was observed in 3.12% (n = 374,210) of patients with obesity. In patients with obesity, VTE was more common in patients with lymphedema than without (2.6% vs 1.6%; p < 0.01). Similarly, VTE was more common in patients with lipedema than without (0.6% vs 0.4%; p < 0.01). After multivariable logistic regression, VTE events in obese patients with lymphedema were higher versus without (OR 1.6; CI 1.08-2.43; p = 0.02). Similarly, VTE events were more common in obese patients with lipedema versus obese patients without lipedema (OR 1.20; CI 1.03-1.41; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In this hypothesis-generating study, lymphedema and lipedema show a positive association with VTE after adjusting for baseline patient characteristics such as obesity, which is a known independent risk factor for VTE. Mechanisms whereby lymphedema and lipedema are associated with VTE should be investigated.

Pulmonary embolism response teams.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common thrombotic event that is variable in its presentation. Depending on the patients' risk for mortality, guidelines provide several treatment strategies including thrombolysis, catheter-directed therapies, pulmonary embolectomy, anticoagulation, and inferior vena cava filters. However, there is considerable disagreement between guidelines regarding the optimal treatment strategy for patients, particularly for those with intermediate-risk PE. In order to provide rapid and individualized care, PE response teams (PERT) have been developed. These teams consist of members from different specialties with a particular interest in PE, varying technical skills, and clinical experience, thereby allowing for a multidisciplinary approach. PERT allows for consensus decision making, and for rapid intervention in patients whose conditions worsen. In this review, we provide an overview of treatment guidelines for PE, and of results from recent clinical trials involving patients with submassive PE. In addition, we discuss an outline of our approach and use of PERT.