Racial disparities exist when it comes to pulmonary embolism (PE) caused by COVID-19, according to research presented Wednesday afternoon at the RSNA 2021 meeting.
A team led by presenter Dr. Brandon Metra of Thomas Jefferson University found that Black COVID-19 patients were more likely than their white counterparts to develop pulmonary embolism, even after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
Pulmonary embolism is a common complication of COVID-19, the researchers noted. They sought to assess whether there are racial disparities in COVID-19-associated PE, using data from TriNetX, a research network that includes electronic health records from more than 73 million patients around the world. The team extracted data regarding adults with COVID-19 between January and September 2020, tracking clinical outcomes by race, with the primary outcome being developing PE or dying within 30 days of diagnosis.
Of 346,953 patients with COVID-19, 3,879 developed pulmonary embolism (1.18%), the researchers found. Out of the total cohort, 157,049 patients were white and 50,376 were Black. The investigators discovered that Black patients had a higher risk of mortality and PE compared to their white counterparts, and those with both COVID-19 and pulmonary embolism had a higher rate of 30-day mortality compared to white patients.
"Clinicians should consider racial disparities in the surveillance and management of pulmonary embolism associated with COVID-19," the group concluded.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
