EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF HOSPITALIZATIONS DUE TO PULMONARY EMBOLISM IN BRAZIL FROM 2020 TO 2025

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism is an important cause of hospital morbidity and mortality, with its distribution influenced by clinical, demographic, and healthcare-related factors. Objective: to analyze the epidemiological profile of hospitalizations due to pulmonary embolism in Brazil from 2020 to 2025. Methods: ecological, descriptive, and retrospective study using data from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System, considering hospitalizations, deaths, hospital mortality, sex, age group, race/color, and geographic region. Results: 74,677 hospitalizations and 12,619 deaths were recorded, with a cumulative hospital mortality rate of 16.90%. Hospitalizations increased by 58.2%, from 9,665 in 2020 to 15,292 in 2025, while hospital mortality decreased from 17.71% to 14.69%. The Southeast region accounted for 53.4% of hospitalizations, whereas the North and Northeast presented the highest cumulative mortality rates. Women accounted for 60.5% of hospitalizations, although men had higher proportional mortality. The 60–69-year age group had the highest number of hospitalizations, while individuals aged 80 years or older had the highest mortality. Conclusion: hospitalizations due to pulmonary embolism increased while hospital mortality decreased during the study period, with important regional, age-related, and sex-related differences, highlighting the need for early diagnosis, venous thromboembolism prevention, and improved hospital care.