Incidence and Clinicopathological Manifestations of Pulmonary Thromboembolism in Japan

Abstract

(1) Pulmonary thromboembolism has become one of common chest diseases encountered in Japanese general hospitals. During 10-years period the answer from 150 main departments or hospitals in this country showed that the incidence of this disease was increasing from 0.005% to 0.03% clinically and from 0.24% to 2.14% in autopsy. But, these rates are still lower than those in Western countries.
(2) In our cases of the Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo University Hospital, 31 instances were recognized in recent 75-month period.
(3) In our series age and sex distribution of this disease revealed that it was not uncommon in persons under 40, and the incidence in male was predominant.
(4) The most of pulmonary embolism cases were preceded by heart disease or neoplasm as the underlying disease in our series. Especially, the latter is increasing in Japan.
(5) Hemoptysis and pleural friction rub were relatively uncommon in our series. Rather, nonspecific manifestations such as tachycardia, dyspnea, fever and others far more predominated.
(6) About chest roentgenograms there was no specific configuration, but the possibility of this disease was suspected in 78% of patients who were taken chest X-ray film.
(7) Electrocardiographic abnormalities were detected in 72% of cases adequately examined.
(8) In our autopsied series, the location, number and size of pulmonary thromboembolism were surveyed.