Thromb Haemostasis
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Review Meta Analysis
VIDAS D-dimer in combination with clinical pre-test probability to rule out pulmonary embolism. A systematic review of management outcome studies.
Clinical outcome studies have shown that it is safe to withhold anticoagulant therapy in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) who have a negative D-dimer result and a low pretest probability (PTP) either using a PTP model or clinical gestalt. It was the objective of the present study to assess the safety of the combination of a negative VIDAS D-dimer result in combination with a non-high PTP using the Wells or Geneva models to exclude PE. A systematic literature search strategy was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials and all EBM Reviews. ⋯ PE was ruled out by a negative D-dimer test in 2,248 (40%, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 38.7 to 41.3%) of them. The three-month thromboembolic risk in patients left untreated on the basis of a low/intermediate or unlikely PTP and a negative D-dimer test was 3/2,166 (0.14%, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.41%). In conclusion, the combination of a negative VIDAS D-dimer result and a non-high PTP effectively and safely excludes PE in an important proportion of outpatients with suspected PE.