Revista Científica de la Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias

Servicio de Medicina Interna. Hospital Comarcal de Medina del Campo. Valladolid, Spain.

Pulmonary embolism is a frequently seen complication in the emergency department.
Little information is available on the presentation of this event in patients under the age
of 45 years, yet early detection and treatment continue to be the main predictors of
clinical course. We aimed to describe the clinical presentation of emergency pulmonary
embolism in patients less than 45 years old, with emphasis on identifying risk factors.
Cases of pulmonary embolism diagnosed in our hospital’s emergency department
between September 2004 and December 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. Our
findings confirm that pulmonary embolism is rare in patients under 45 years of age.