Age adjusted D-dimer

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Background

  • The PE derivation and validation study for usage of the age adjusted d-dimer formula concluded that when combining the d-dimer adjustment with clinical probability, less patients required CTA for exclusion and offered no clinical increase in the rate of missed Pulmonary embolism[1][2]
  • Similarly, using the age adjusted d-dimer in combination with clinical probability can reduce the need for further testing in DVT evaluations with no substantial risk to patient safety[3][4]

Usage

Labs commonly report the test as fibrinogen equivalent units (FEUs) with the cutoff at 500 ng/mL and most studies used the FEU values for derivation or validation. If reported by the lab as a D-dimer unit (DDU) the cutoff is often 230 ng/mL. 2 FEUs equal 1 DDU.

  • Age (years) x 10 ug/L for patients > 50 years of age
    • Patient age 75 = age adjusted d-dimer of 750 ug/L
  • If using a lab with a cutoff of 230 (DDU assay) then formula is Age x 5
TEST Age Sensitivity Specificity
Lab cutoff 51 - 60 100% 57.60%
Lab cutoff 61 - 70 99.00% 39.40%
Lab cuttoff 71 - 80 98.70% 24.50%
Lab cutoff >80 99.60% 14.70%
Age Adjusted cutoff 51 - 60 99.40% 62.30%
Age Adjusted cutoff 61 - 70 97.30% 49.50%
Age Adjusted cutoff 71 - 80 97.30% 44.20%
Age Adjusted cutoff >80 97.00% 35.20%

Special Considerations

References

  1. Douma R. et al. Potential of an age adjusted D-dimer cut-off value to improve the exclusion of pulmonary embolism in older patients: a retrospective analysis of three large cohorts. BMJ (Clinical research ed.) (March 30). 2010. doi:10.1136/bmj.c1475.
  2. Douma, R. et al. Using an age-dependent D-dimer cut-off value increases the number of older patients in whom deep vein thrombosis can be safely excluded. Haematologica, no. 10 (April 17). 2012. doi:10.3324/haematol.2011.060657.
  3. Schouten, H et al.. Diagnostic accuracy of conventional or age adjusted D-dimer cut-off values in older patients with suspected venous thromboembolism: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.) (May 3). 2013. doi:10.1136/bmj.f2492.
  4. Schouten, H et al. Validation of two age dependent D-dimer cut-off values for exclusion of deep vein thrombosis in suspected elderly patients in primary care: retrospective, cross sectional, diagnostic analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.) (June 6). 2012. doi:10.1136/bmj.e2985.