Hospitalizations for pulmonary embolism vary by season

(HealthDay)—Hospitalizations for pulmonary embolism (PE) are higher in the winter and lower in the summer, according to a study published online Oct. 31 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Homeostasis.

Ricardo Guijarro, M.D., from the Regional University Hospital of Malaga in Spain, and colleagues examined trends in seasonal patterns in hospitalization for PE in Spain. Data were obtained from the hospital discharge database of the Spanish National Health System from 2001 to 2010. By considering mean daily admissions for PE by month, the authors constructed a time series of patients aged >14 years diagnosed with a PE.

The researchers found that there were 162,032 diagnoses of PE from 2001 to 2010 (5.07 per 1,000 hospitalizations). PE was the reason for admission in 105,168 cases. There was variation in the PE-diagnosis rate, from 4.14 per 1,000 in 2001 to 6.56 per 1,000 in 2010; variation was also seen in hospital admissions due to PE, from 2.67 to 4.28 per 1,000 discharges. There was a linear increase noted in the incidence of PE and a significant seasonal pattern was identified, with 17 percent more admissions in February and 12 percent fewer in June-July, compared with the central tendency.

"The incidence of hospitalizations for PE showed a linear increase and a seasonal pattern, with the highest number of admissions in winter and the lowest number in summer," the authors write.

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