What does a D dimer test look for?
A D-dimer test looks for D-dimer in blood. D-dimer is a protein fragment (small piece) that’s made when a blood clot dissolves in your body. Blood clotting is an important process that prevents you from losing too much blood when you are injured.
Can a D-dimer blood test be undetectable?
It is normally undetectable or detectable at a very low level unless the body is forming and breaking down blood clots. Then, its level in the blood can significantly rise. A D-dimer test is a blood test that can be used to help rule out the presence of a serious blood clot.
What is D-dimer and how is it treated?
D-Dimer is one of the protein fragments produced when a blood clot gets dissolved in the body. It is normally undetectable or detectable at a very low level unless the body is forming and breaking down blood clots.
What does a normal D-dimer level mean?
A normal D-dimer level usually indicates a clotting problem is unlikely. Visit Lab Tests Online website for more information about D-dimer testing. You can also read more about blood tests in general. Read this guide to blood testing to learn more about blood tests, including:
How many extremely elevated D-dimer test results are there?
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients > 18 years with an extremely elevated (> 5000 μg/l; > 10x cut-off to exclude VTE) D-dimer test result. Electronic medical records were reviewed for diagnoses. Results: A total of 759 extremely elevated D-dimer results were identified.
What is the normal range of D dimer in DVT?
D-dimers at baseline were significantly higher in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) (P< 0.001). The negative predictive value of a baseline D-dimer level < 1.0 μg/ml was 90% for VTE and 98% for pulmonary embolism (PE). The positive predictive value for VTE was 44% and 67% for D-dimer level ≥ 1.0 μg/ml and ≥ 3 μg/ml, respectively.
What is a low D dimer cut-off value?
In these algorithms, low D- dimer cut-off values are used to generate a dichotomous test result that is sensitive, but very non-specific for VTE. A consequence of any test dichotomisation is loss of information that is hidden in the continuous spectrum of results.