P8 Use of D-dimer: CRP ratio compared to D-dimer alone to predict PE on VQ scanning

Age-Adjusted D-Dimer in the Prediction of Pulmonary Embolism: Does a Normal Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Rule Out PE?

Risk assessment for pulmonary embolism (PE) currently relies on physician judgment, clinical decision rules (CDR), and D-dimer testing. There is still controversy regarding the role of D-dimer testing in low or intermediate risk patients. The objective of the study was to define the role of clinical decision rules and D-dimer testing in patients suspected of having a PE. Records of 894 patients...

A Primer on D-dimer

D Dimer Assay

Introduction A new test for determination of circulating fibrin degradation products has recently been marketed in the U.S. Known genericaUy as the D-dimer assay, it is a direct latex agglutination assay employing monoclonal anubody specific for digestion products of crosslinked fibrin. It is offered as an alternative to or replacement for the widely available Thrombo-Wellcotest assay for fibri...

Comparing D-dimer assays

• Including many patients with elevated D-dimer concentrations due to other causes than VTE may give a false increase in sensitivity and negative predictive value • The prevalence of VTE has an influence on the predictive values – higher prevalence gives lower NPV • A high ratio of proximal to distal DVT will increase both the sensitivity and the negative predictive value • A study focused on P...

Age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff levels to rule out pulmonary embolism: the ADJUST-PE study.

IMPORTANCE D-dimer measurement is an important step in the diagnostic strategy of clinically suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE), but its clinical usefulness is limited in elderly patients. OBJECTIVE To prospectively validate whether an age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff, defined as age × 10 in patients 50 years or older, is associated with an increased diagnostic yield of D-dimer in elderly pat...