Plasma D-dimer concentrations in different clinical conditions.

D-dimers (DD), specific degradation products of crosslinked fibrin, are markers for activation of plasma coagulation and/or fibrinolysis. DD results below the cut-off level are proven to be useful to rule out the probable diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE). Our objective was to demonstrate that positive DD occur in many diseases and certain physiological conditions as high age and pregnancy and to look for gradations in positivity between different pathological conditions. We wanted to investigate the request attitude of our clinicians concerning DD. Positive DD results still confuse some physicians. Retrospectively, we examined medical records of 574 consecutive patients, in whom plasma DD were measured in daily routine. Both outpatients (n = 423) and inpatients (n = 151) were included. We noted their clinically predominant disease. Measurement of DD concentration is too often requested by clinicians, in any medical condition, and is not always clinically relevant. The relation of a positive result and the clinical problem is sometimes not understood. Overall, we found 64% DD positivity with a median concentration of 775 micrograms/L. We found elevated DD concentrations in various clinical conditions.