Background: Femur fracture is a well-recognized risk factor for pulmonary embolism (PE). Despite recent reports of early PE after major trauma, the incidence and outcomes of PE in femur fracture patients are unknown. The aims of the study were to determine the incidence of PE after a femur fracture and to evaluate its timing and clinical significance.
Methods: We included all consecutive adult patients (≥18 years old) with femur fracture admitted to our emergency department from January 2010 to December 2014 who underwent subsequent PE computed tomography within 72 hours. Of 453 stable patients, 28 with a confirmed diagnosis of acute PE were compared against those without PE.
Results: Of 1,301 femur fracture patients who presented at our hospital, 453 were included in our present analysis, of whom 28 developed PE (2.2%). Proximal PE, defined as emboli located within the main or lobar arteries, constituted 78.6% and subsegmental PE constituted 21.4% of these 28 cases. The femur fracture sites were mainly intertrochanteric (50.3%) and the neck (43.9%). The median interval from injury to computed tomography was 13.0 hours (IQR, 9.0-24.0 hours). PE was detected in 57.1% (16 of 28) of patients in the first 24 hours after injury and in 89.3% (25 of 28) in the first 48 hours. Overall mortality was 0.7%, and no patient in the early PE group died of their injury.
Conclusion: PE arises in femur fracture patients in the immediate period following injury and shows an incidence somewhat higher than commonly appreciated in other trauma events but is not fatal.
Level of evidence: Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level III.