Inflammatory Cytokine Levels in Pulmonary Embolism Severity: A Retrospective Study

Background: Inflammatory cytokines are involved in the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and may influence the mortality. But the association between their levels and severity of pulmonary embolism (PE) is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory cytokines and PE severity. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who were admitted to Xinhua Hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of PE between Jan 2019 and Apr 2021. Inflammatory cytokines were compared among different severities of PE groups. Spearman rank-order correlation analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between cytokine level and PE severity. In addition, we estimated the association between comorbidities and PE severity by using multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Results: A negative correlation between IL-8 level and PE severity was found (r=-0.466, P=0.018). Comorbidities of coronary heart disease [3.76 (1.99-7.10) (P=0.000)], deep venous thrombosis [2.40 (1.15-5.01) (P=0.019)], respiratory failure [2.92 (1.33-6.4) (P=0.007)] were correlated with the severity of PE. Conclusions: IL-8 level is negative correlated with PE severity. Patients with comorbidities regarding coronary heart disease, deep venous thrombosis, and respiratory failure may have higher risk to surfer a more sever PE.