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Safely Ruling Out Deep Venous Thrombosis in Primary Care.
Ann Intern Med. 2009 Feb 17;150(4):229-235
Authors: Büller HR, Ten Cate-Hoek AJ, Hoes AW, Joore MA, Moons KG, Oudega R, Prins MH, Stoffers HE, Toll DB, van der Velde EF, van Weert HC,
BACKGROUND: Up to 90% of patients referred for ultrasonography with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the leg do not have the disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficiency of using a clinical decision rule that includes a point-of-care d-dimer assay at initial presentation in primary care to exclude DVT. DESIGN: A prospective management study. SETTING: Approximately 300 primary care practices in 3 regions of the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Maastricht, and Utrecht). PATIENTS: 1028 consecutive patients with clinically suspected DVT. INTERVENTION: Patients were managed on the basis of the result of the clinical decision rule, which included a d-dimer result. Patients with a score of 3 or less were not referred for ultrasonography and received no anticoagulant treatment; patients with a score of 4 or more were referred for ultrasonography. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was symptomatic, objectively confirmed, venous thromboembolism during 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: The mean age of the 1028 study patients was 58 years, and 37% of patients were men. A valid score was obtained in 1002 patients (98%). In 500 patients (49%), with a score of 3 or less, 7 developed venous thromboembolism within 3 months (incidence, 1.4% [95% CI, 0.6% to 2.9%]). A total of 502 patients (49%) had a score of 4 or more; 3 did not have ultrasonography. Ultrasonography showed DVT in 125 patients (25%), for an overall prevalence in evaluable patients of 13% (125 of 1002). Of the 374 patients who had normal ultrasonography results, 4 developed venous thromboembolism within 3 months (1.1% [CI, 0.3% to 2.7%]). Limitation: The study lacked a randomized design and relied on clinical follow-up to detect missed thrombotic disease. CONCLUSION: A diagnostic management strategy in primary care by using a simple clinical decision rule and a point-of-care d-dimer assay reduces the need for referral to secondary care of patients with clinically suspected DVT by almost 50% and is associated with a low risk for subsequent venous thromboembolic events. Funding: The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.
PMID: 19221374 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]