Hospital procedural volume and outcomes with catheter-directed intervention for pulmonary embolism: a nationwide analysis

There is limited data on the association between hospital catheter-directed intervention (CDI) volume and outcomes among patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

The Nationwide Readmissions Database years 2016–2019 was utilized to identify hospitalizations undergoing CDI for acute PE. Hospitals were divided into tertiles based on annual CDI volume; low-volume (1–3 procedures), moderate-volume (4–12 procedures) and high-volume (>12 procedures). The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Among 1 436 382 PE admissions, 2.6% underwent CDI; 5.6% were in low-volume, 17.3% in moderate-volume and 77.1% in high-volume hospitals. There was an inverse relationship between hospital CDI volume and in-hospital mortality (coefficient  −0.344, P < 0.001). On multivariable regression analysis, hospitals with high CDI volume were associated with lower in-hospital mortality compared with hospitals with low CDI volume (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53, 0.95). Additionally, there was an inverse association between CDI volume and length of stay (LOS) (regression coefficient −0.023, 95% CI −0.027, −0.019) and cost (regression coefficient −74.6, 95% CI −98.8, −50.3). There were no differences in major bleeding and 30-day unplanned readmission rates between the three groups.

In this contemporary observational analysis of PE admissions undergoing CDI, there was an inverse association between hospital CDI volume and in-hospital mortality, LOS, and cost. Major bleeding and 30-day unplanned readmission rates were similar between the three groups.