A novel prognostic indicator for in-hospital and 4-year outcomes in patients with pulmonary embolism: TIMI risk index.

BACKGROUND: Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk index (TRI) was recently evaluated in patients with acute myocardial infarction and found as an important prognostic index. In the current study, we evaluated the prognostic value of TRI in patients with moderate-high and high risk pulmonary embolism (PE) who were treated with thrombolytic agents.

METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the in-hospital and long-term (4-year) prognostic impact of TRI in a total number of 456 patients with moderate-high and high risk PE. Patients were stratified by quartiles (Q) of admission TRI.

RESULTS: In-hospital analysis revealed significantly higher rates of in-hospital death for patients with TRI in Q4. After adjustment for confounding baseline variables, TRI in Q4 was associated with 2.8-fold hazard of in-hospital death. Upon multivariate analysis, admission TRI in Q4 vs. Q1-3 was associated with 3.1 fold hazard of 4-year mortality rate.

CONCLUSION: TRI in Q4, as compared to Q1-3, was significantly predictive of short term and long-term outcomes in PE patients who treated with thrombolytic agents. Our data suggest TRI to be an independent, feasible, and cost-effective tool for rapid risk stratification in moderate-high and high risk PE patients who treated with thrombolytic agents.