Role of D-Dimer, Fibrinogen and D-Dimer/Fibrinogen Rate in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism

Objective: The migration of a blood clot from the systemic circulation to pulmonary veins is called pulmonary embolism (PE). Pulmonary embolism is difficult to diagnose. The aim of the present study is to investigate the utility and diagnostic contribution of d-dimer, fibrinogen level, and Ddimer/ Fibrinogen (D/F) rate which are quick, non-invasive, affordable and easily obtainable laboratory tests in PE. Methods: We have evaluated the diagnostic value of D/F rate in 118 patients who were suspected to have PE. Diagnosis of PE was made by computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography. D-dimer level was above normal in all patients. Initially, Wells clinical scoring was applied on the patients and their d-dimer and fibrinogen levels were measured. Results: Seventy seven patients were detected as PE positive (+) and 41 were detected as PE negative (-). Forty-eight of the cases (40.7%) were male; the average age was 49.77 +/- 19.46 (15-86) years. Between PE (+) and PE (-) patients, d-dimer, fibrinogen, and D/F rate median values and standard derivations were detected to be different and statistically significant. Conclusion: According to this study approach to the patients with suspected from PE, D/F ratio is valuable than d-dimer, and fibrinogen level is significantly lower in patients with PE (+) than patients with PE (-).