D-Dimer and CT Rule Out Pulmonary Embolism

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
DAMIAN MCNAMARA
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

D-Dimer Determination to Exclude Pulmonary Embolism: a Two-Step Approach Using Latex Assay as a Screening Tool

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (01) ◽  
pp. 089-091 ◽  
Author(s):  
P de Moerloose ◽  
Ph Minazio ◽  
G Reber ◽  
A Perrier ◽  
H Bounameaux
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Elisa Assay ◽  
Elisa Technique ◽  
Diagnostic Step ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out ◽  
Latex Test

SummaryD-dimer (DD), when measured by a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), is a valuable test to exclude venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, DD ELISA technique is not appropriate for emergency use and the available agglutination latex assays are not sensitive enough to be used as an alternative to rule out the diagnosis of VTE. Latex assays could still be used as screening tests. We tested this hypothesis by comparing DD levels measured by ELISA and latex assays in 334 patients suspected of pulmonary embolism. All but one patient with a positive (DD ≥500 ng/ml) latex assay had DD levels higher than 500 ng/ml with the ELISA assay. Accordingly, ELISA technique could be restricted to patients with a negative result in latex assay. This two-step approach would have spared about 50% of ELISA in our cohort. In conclusion, our data indicate that a latex test can be used as a first diagnostic step to rule out pulmonary embolism provided a negative result is confirmed by ELISA and the performance of the latex assay used has been assessed properly.

Evidence for Age-Adjusted D-Dimer to Rule out Pulmonary Embolism: An Institutional Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 154 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S5-S5
Author(s):  
Ridin Balakrishnan ◽  
Daniel Casa ◽  
Morayma Reyes Gil
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
False Positive ◽  
False Positive Rate ◽  
Moderate Risk ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Statistical Measures ◽  
Positive Rate ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

Abstract The diagnostic approach for ruling out suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in the ED setting includes several tests: ultrasound, plasma d-dimer assays, ventilation-perfusion scans and computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Importantly, a pretest probability scoring algorithm is highly recommended to triage high risk cases while also preventing unnecessary testing and harm to low/moderate risk patients. The d-dimer assay (both ELISA and immunoturbidometric) has been shown to be extremely sensitive to rule out PE in conjunction with clinical probability. In particularly, d-dimer testing is recommended for low/moderate risk patients, in whom a negative d-dimer essentially rules out PE sparing these patients from CTPA radiation exposure, longer hospital stay and anticoagulation. However, an unspecific increase in fibrin-degradation related products has been seen with increase in age, resulting in higher false positive rate in the older population. This study analyzed patient visits to the ED of a large academic institution for five years and looked at the relationship between d-dimer values, age and CTPA results to better understand the value of age-adjusted d-dimer cut-offs in ruling out PE in the older population. A total of 7660 ED visits had a CTPA done to rule out PE; out of which 1875 cases had a d-dimer done in conjunction with the CT and 5875 had only CTPA done. Out of the 1875 cases, 1591 had positive d-dimer results (>0.50 µg/ml (FEU)), of which 910 (57%) were from patients older than or equal to fifty years of age. In these older patients, 779 (86%) had a negative CT result. The following were the statistical measures of the d-dimer test before adjusting for age: sensitivity (98%), specificity (12%); negative predictive value (98%) and false positive rate (88%). After adjusting for age in people older than 50 years (d-dimer cut off = age/100), 138 patients eventually turned out to be d-dimer negative and every case but four had a CT result that was also negative for a PE. The four cases included two non-diagnostic results and two with subacute/chronic/subsegmental PE on imaging. None of these four patients were prescribed anticoagulation. The statistical measures of the d-dimer test after adjusting for age showed: sensitivity (96%), specificity (20%); negative predictive value (98%) and a decrease in the false positive rate (80%). Therefore, imaging could have been potentially avoided in 138/779 (18%) of the patients who were part of this older population and had eventual negative or not clinically significant findings on CTPA if age-adjusted d-dimers were used. This data very strongly advocates for the clinical usefulness of an age-adjusted cut-off of d-dimer to rule out PE.

The age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff level to rule out pulmonary embolism in patients with syncope

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyal Fuchs ◽  
Emilia Hardak ◽  
Anat Keren-Politansky ◽  
Ron Hoffman ◽  
Inna Tzoran
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

Pulmonary Embolism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Granat ◽  
Evan Avraham Alpert
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Blood Clot ◽  
Pretest Probability ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Pulmonary Vasculature ◽  
Pulmonary Angiogram ◽  
Catheter Directed Thrombolysis ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

Pulmonary embolism is caused by a blood clot that travels from the deep veins through the heart and then lodges in the pulmonary vasculature. Common symptoms include pleuritic chest pain, dyspnea, or palpitations. Clinical scores such as the Wells score and Revised Geneva score can be used to assess the pretest probability of pulmonary embolism (PE) and guide work-up such as deciding to order D-dimer testing or imaging. However, clinical gestalt can also accurately assess the pretest probability of PE. The Pulmonary Embolism Rule-out Criteria is a decision rule that can be used to rule out PE without further testing. Imaging modalities include computed tomography pulmonary angiogram or ventilation/perfusion scanning. Novel or new oral anticoagulants are becoming the mainstay of treatment for the hemodynamically stable patient with pulmonary embolism. For the patient who is hemodynamically unstable, treatment modalities include intravenous alteplase, catheter-directed thrombolysis, surgical embolectomy, and catheter-directed embolectomy. A subset of patients with PE can be treated as outpatients. This review contains 1 figure, 4 tables, and 55 references. Key Words: anticoagulants, antithrombins, D-dimer, low-molecular-weight heparin, mechanical thrombolysis, multidetector computed tomography, radionuclide imaging, unfractionated heparin, pulmonary embolism, tissue plasminogen activator, warfarin

Combined measurement of factor XIII and D-dimer is helpful for differential diagnosis in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Tang ◽  
Ziyong Sun ◽  
Dengju Li ◽  
Jun Yang ◽  
Shiyu Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Factor Xiii ◽  
Coagulation Factor ◽  
Suspected Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Coronary Syndrome ◽  
Single Center Study ◽  
Wells Score ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

AbstractBackground:D-dimer has been used to rule out pulmonary embolism (PE). Based on previous reports of decreased concentrations of coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) in venous thromboembolism, and no change in FXIII concentration in patients with acute cardiovascular disease, we evaluated the benefit of simultaneously measuring D-dimer and FXIII concentrations for diagnosing PE.Methods:In this prospective single-center study, we enrolled 209 patients initially suspected of having PE, and measured their D-dimer and FXIII concentrations. Forty-one patients were diagnosed with PE and 168 with other final diagnoses, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS); aortic dissection (AD); spontaneous pneumothorax (SP); other respiratory, heart, digestive and nervous diseases; and uncertain diagnoses.Results:Patients with PE had significantly higher D-dimer and lower FXIII concentrations than did patients without PE. Combined D-dimer and FXIII measurements provided a higher positive predictive value (76.6%) for PE than single tests, especially in patients with Wells score >4.0 (89.3%). Specifically, patients with AD or ACS showed higher FXIII concentrations and mean platelet volumes than did patients with PE or SP, and patients with PE and AD had higher D-dimer concentrations than did other patients. At the thresholds of 69.0% for FXIII and 1.10 μg/mL for D-dimer, 123/151 patients (81.5%) with serious diseases (PE, AD, ACS and SP) were correctly distinguished.Conclusions:Combined measurement of D-dimer and FXIII helps distinguish PE from serious diseases with similar symptoms and appears to relate to increased FXIII release from active platelets in cardiovascular disease.

scholarly journals P104: Evaluating the use of the pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria in the emergency department

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S93-S94
Author(s):  
S. Sharif ◽  
C. Kearon ◽  
M. Eventov ◽  
M. Li ◽  
P. Sneath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
False Negative ◽  
False Negative Rate ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Ct Scanning ◽  
Pulmonary Angiogram ◽  
Ct Angiogram ◽  
D Dimer ◽  
Rule Out

Introduction: Diagnosing pulmonary embolism (PE) can be challenging because the signs and symptoms are often non-specific. Studies have shown that evidence-based algorithms are not always adhered to in the Emergency Department (ED), which leads to unnecessary CT scanning. The pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria (PERC) can identify patients who can be safely discharged from the ED without further investigation for PE. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of the PERC rule in the ED and to compare the rates of testing for PE if the PERC rule was used. Methods: This was a health records review of ED patients investigated for PE at two emergency departments over a two-year period (April 2013-March 2015). Inclusion criteria were ED physician ordered CT pulmonary angiogram, ventilation-perfusion scan, or D-dimer for investigation of PE. Patients under the age of 18 were excluded. PE was considered to be present during the emergency department visit if PE was diagnosed on CT or VQ (subsegmental level or above), or if the patient was subsequently found to have PE or deep vein thrombosis during the next 30 days. Trained researchers extracted anonymized data. The rate of CT/VQ imaging and the negative predictive value was calculated. Results: There were 1,163 patients that were tested for PE and 1,097 patients were eligible for our analysis. Of the total, 330/1,097 (30.1%; 95%CI 27.4-32.3%) had CT/VQ imaging for PE, and 48/1,097 (4.4%; 95%CI 3.3-5.8%) patients were diagnosed with PE. 806/1,097 (73.5%; 95%CI 70.8-76.0%) were PERC positive, and of these, 44 patients had a PE (5.5%; 95%CI 4.1-7.3%). Conversely, 291/1,097 (26.5%; 95%CI 24.0-29.2%) patients were PERC negative, and of these, 4 patients had a PE (1.4%; 95%CI 0.5-3.5%). Of the PERC negative patients, 291/291 (100.0%; 95%CI 98.7-100.0%) had a D-dimer test done, and 33/291 (11.3%; 95%CI 8.2-15.5%) had a CT angiogram. If PERC was used, CT/VQ imaging would have been avoided in 33/1,097 (3%; 95%CI 2.2-4.2%) patients and the D-dimer would have been avoided in 291/1,097 (26.5%; 95%CI 24.0-29.2%) patients. Conclusion: If the PERC rule was used in all patients with suspected PE, fewer patients would have further testing. The false negative rate for the PERC rule was low.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document