A rapid assay for the detection of circulating D-dimer is associated with clinical outcomes among critically ill patients

Abstract

To determine whether the results of a rapid, semiquantitative assay for the detection of circulating D-dimer in whole blood (SRDD assay) are associated with the occurrence of clinical outcomes among critically ill patients. Prospective, blinded, single-center study. Medical intensive care unit (ICU) of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO, a university-affiliated teaching hospital. Three hundred twenty-three adult patients admitted to a medical ICU. Collection of blood samples within 24 hrs of ICU admission. The main outcome measures evaluated included vascular thrombosis, hospital mortality, and the development of multiorgan dysfunction. Fifty (15.5%) patients were found to have increased concentrations of D-dimer as detected by the SRDD assay within 24 hrs of ICU admission. The concentrations of plasma D-dimer simultaneously measured by an enzyme immunoassay based on the same antibody were significantly greater among patients with a positive SRDD assay compared with patients with a negative SRDD assay (1214 +/- 483 vs. 405 +/- 407 ng/mL; p Our preliminary investigation suggests that the results from a rapid whole blood assay for the semiquantitative detection of circulating D-dimer are associated with clinical outcomes among patients admitted to a medical ICU. In addition, the use of D-dimer to identify the presence of active intravascular thrombosis may identify patients likely to benefit from antithrombotic therapies in the ICU setting. (Crit Care Med 1998; 26:1054-1060)