Prognostic value of a new quantitative D-dimer test in critically ill patients 24 and 48 h following admission to the intensive care unit.

A D-dimer assay may predict mortality in medical critically ill patients, although no consensus on the clinical utility of this diagnostic test has been reached. A prospective single-center study was designed to evaluate whether D-dimer levels, as measured by a new, rapid assay, correlate with poor outcome in critically ill patients. A total of 95 blood samples were collected from medical and surgical adult patients 24 and 48 h following admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). D-dimer was assayed by the Miniquant quantitative test and correlated to the ICU length of stay, the hospital length of stay, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score and the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) 24 and 48 h following admission to the ICU, organ system failure index and hospital mortality. The 24-h D-dimer level correlated with the 48 h APACHE II and SAPS scores (r = 0.41, P = 0.01; and r = 0.39, P = 0.01, respectively). The 48-h D-dimer level correlated with the APACHE II and SAPS scores at 48 h and with the organ system failure index (number of organ failure) (r = 0.54, P = 0.0008; r = 0.60, P = 0.0001; and r = 0.37, P = 0.02, respectively). Neither the 24-h nor the 48-h D-dimer levels were predictive of in-hospital mortality in a multivariate model. We conclude that this simple and new laboratory test may serve as an additional tool to predict the clinical severity of patients admitted to the ICU. Copyright 2004 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins