With publication of the final part of Stago’s DiET study into venous thromboembolism, Laurence Loï considers the role of D-dimer testing when clinicians are faced with elderly patients in the emergency setting.
According to the European Heart Journal, there were more than 350,000 venous thromboembolism (VTE)-related deaths in just six European countries in one year.1 Early diagnosis is crucial, with almost three-quarters of all VTE-related deaths associated with the patient’s stay in hospital.2 For the elderly, accurately evaluating a patient’s risk factor continues to be problematic.
The publication of the final part of Stago’s comprehensive ‘D-Dimer in the Exclusion of Venous Thromboembolism’ (DiET) study comes as the company has suggested new ways of evaluating risk when faced with elderly patients in the emergency situation. It has developed an age-adapted approach for the use of D-dimer in the exclusion of deep venous thrombosis (DVT).3
International standardisation for D-dimer assays continues to prove challenging, resulting in various assays with different cut-offs and clinical performances. Given the large differences in the sensitivity and specificity of D-dimer assays on the market, the choice of assay, especially with the elderly, is important.
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