Sex-related differences in D-dimer levels for venous thromboembolism screening.

Background D-dimer is generally considered positive above 0.5 mg/L irrespective of sex. However, women have been shown to be more likely to have a positive D-dimer after controlling for other factors. Thus, differences may exist between males and females for using D-dimer as a marker of venous thromboembolic (VTE) disease. We hypothesized that the accuracy of D-dimer tests may be enhanced by using appropriate cutoff values that reflect sex-related differences in D-dimer levels. Methods This research is a secondary analysis of a multicenter, international, prospective, observational study of adult (18+ years) patients suspected of VTE, with low-to-intermediate pretest probability based on We…