Role of a quantitative D-dimer assay in determining the need for CT angiography of acute pulmonary embolism

OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to use the results of a quantitative D-dimer assay to determine the need for pulmonary CT angiography in patients suspected of having acute pulmonary embolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS. From July 2001 to December 2002, 755 patients underwent pulmonary CT angiography for the evaluation of acute pulmonary embolism. A rapid, fully automated quantitative D-dimer assay was obtained in more than half the patients. The electronic medical records of the patients were subsequently reviewed to analyze the negative predictive value of the D-dimer assay in the diagnostic workup, of acute pulmonary embolism and to determine the outcome of the patients who had negative findings on both D-dimer assay and pulmonary CT angiography at 3-month follow-up. RESULTS. Of the 755 patients who underwent pulmonary CT angiography, 666 (88.2%) had negative findings, 73 (9.7%) had positive findings, and 16 (2.1%) were indeterminate. A total of 426 patients underwent both pulmonary CT angiography and D-dimer level evaluation, and 84 of these had negative findings (< 0.4 mug/mL) on D-dimer assay. Eighty-two of the 84 patients with negative findings on D-dimer assay had negative findings on pulmonary CT angiography; two were indeterminate and both subsequently had low-probability ventilation-perfusion studies. Among patients with positive D-dimer assays, no one with a level between 0.4 and 1.0 mug/mL had pulmonary CT angiography with findings positive for pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSION. A quantitative D-dimer assay was effective in excluding the need for pulmonary CT angiography and had high negative predictive value when the D-dimer level was less than 1.0 mug/mL.