Correlation Between Computer Tomography Angiography and D-Dimer Level for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism

Overview

A blood sample was taken before starting the patients on any thrombolytic treatment. The positivity threshold for D-Dimer was above 250 ng/ml. CTPA was performed after performing blood sampling. Patients with confirmed pulmonary embolisms were admitted to ICU for continued monitoring of vitals, consciousness level, and signs of tissue perfusion. Signs of shock or hemodynamic instability should be observed regularly. Patients were managed in the ICU with anticoagulants by parenteral use. The most commonly used items were Heparin, either Unfractionated (UFH) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH).D-dimer levels can leverage to detect PE. D-dimer levels can help in guiding the option of CTPA and the initiation of treatment for patients with suspected PE.

A blood sample was taken before starting the patients on any thrombolytic treatment. The positivity threshold for D-Dimer was above 250 ng/ml. CTPA was performed after performing blood sampling. Patients with confirmed pulmonary embolisms were admitted to ICU for continued monitoring of vitals, consciousness level, and signs of tissue perfusion. Signs of shock or hemodynamic instability should be observed regularly. Patients were managed in the ICU with anticoagulants by parenteral use. The most commonly used items were Heparin, either Unfractionated (UFH) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH).Presenting symptoms were mainly dyspnea, chest pain or discomfort, cough, and shortness of breath. Twenty-four patients of the total number of cases were positive for CTPA while four patients were negative for PE by CTPA. embolism was detected in the anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral basal segmental branches of the right lung, the lateral, posterior, and anterior basal segmental branches of the left lung, and the posterior segmental branch of the left lung. The D-dimer test and CTPA both provided similarly accurate PE diagnoses with no significant differences between them. There were 28 patients total, 3 of those patients had D-dimer levels below the cut-off value of 250 ng/ml, whereas the remaining 25 had D-dimer levels over the diagnostic threshold. Those with a positive CTPA diagnosis of PE had greater levels of D dimers than those with a negative CTPA diagnosis of PE. plasma D-dimer concentration did not correlate with the cross-sectional diameter of the blocked pulmonary vessel.D-dimer levels can leverage to detect PE. D-dimer levels can help in guiding the option of CTPA and the initiation of treatment for patients with suspected PE.