title: Utility of rapid D-dimer measurement for screening of acute cardiovascular disease in the emergency setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rapid and accurate methods for screening are necessary for the diagnosis of acute cardiovascular diseases (ACVD), including acute coronary syndrome (ACS), pulmonary thromboembolism, and acute aortic dissection. In this study, the utility of rapid D-dimer measurement for the screening of ACVD was evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consecutive 279 emergent patients in whom ACVD was suspected or not ruled out were enrolled. The median D-dimer concentration of ACVD group (1.10 μg/ml) was significantly higher than that in the non-ACVD group (0.69 μg/ml, p<0.05). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of D-dimer (with cut-off level of 0.75 μg/ml) for the discrimination of ACVD from non-ACVD was 75%, 55%, 38%, and 85%, respectively. In ACVD group, the level of D-dimer in the large vessel disease subgroup was significantly higher than that in the ACS subgroup (6.99 μg/ml and 0.89 μg/ml, respectively; p<0.05). The well-balanced cut-off point for discriminating the two subgroups was D-dimer level of 5.0 μg/ml. D-dimer (with cut-off level of 0.75 μg/ml) showed significantly higher positive test rate for the detection of ACS in very early phase (within 2 h from the onset) compared with troponin T (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rapid measurement of D-dimer is useful for the screening of ACVD in the emergency setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Nippon Medical School, Tama-Nagayama Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. yukichi@rj9.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Yukichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokita
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kusama
authors.forename: Eitaro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kodani
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tadera
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakagomi
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Atarashi
authors.forename: Kyoichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D