The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), or opossum as it is commonly known, is a native mammal in Georgia. Many people are familiar with opossums, but there are several aspects of the opossum with which people are unfamiliar.
pulmonary embolism. A condition in which an embolus (blood clot, formed in a vein) breaks off and blocks a pulmonary artery which supplies blood to the lungs. It can result in pain, breathlessness, and sudden death.
Hemodynamically stabile pulmonary embolism has a much lower mortality rate because of treatment with anticoagulant therapy. In nonmassive pulmonary embolism, the death rate is less than 5% in the first 3-6 months of anticoagulant treatment. The rate of recurrent thromboembolism is less than 5% during this time.t 5 days of anticoagulant therapy, 36% of lung scan defects are resolved; at 2 weeks, 52% are resolved; and at 3 months, 73% are resolved. Most patients treated with anticoagulants do not develop long-term sequelae upon follow-up evaluation. The mortality in patients with undiagnosed pulmonary embolism is 30%.