Linked Life Data

1670841

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/1670841

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
8735
pubmed:dateCreated
1991-2-13
pubmed:abstractText
The potential of plasma measurement of D-dimer (DD), a specific derivative of crosslinked fibrin, for diagnosis or exclusion of pulmonary embolism was investigated in a prospective series of 171 consecutive patients who attended an emergency department with suspected pulmonary embolism. The diagnosis was made or excluded by means of a clinical decision-making process which included clinical evaluation, ventilation-perfusion (VQ) lung scan, and, as indicated, pulmonary angiography, venography, or non-invasive examination of the leg veins. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed by this process in 55 (32%) of 170 patients with sufficient data. All but 1 of these 55 patients had a DD concentration of 500 micrograms/l or above. The sensitivity and specificity of this cutoff concentration for the presence of pulmonary embolism were 98% and 39%, respectively, which give positive and negative predictive values of 44% and 98%. Among the 115 patients (68%) who had inconclusive VQ scans, 31 were diagnosed as having pulmonary embolism. 29 of the remaining 84 patients without pulmonary embolism had DD concentrations below 500 micrograms/l, which means that further diagnostic procedures could have been avoided in a quarter of the patients with inconclusive VQ scans. The sensitivity of the plasma measurement of DD remained high even 3 and 7 days after presentation (96% and 93%). Plasma measurement of DD therefore has a definite place in the diagnostic procedure for suspected acute pulmonary embolism in attenders at emergency departments: a concentration below 500 micrograms/l rules out the diagnosis.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0140-6736
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
26
pubmed:volume
337
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
196-200
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1991
pubmed:articleTitle
Measurement of D-dimer in plasma as diagnostic aid in suspected pulmonary embolism.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study