J Thromb Haemost. 2021 Apr 8. doi: 10.1111/jth.15337. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Current clinical decision rules to exclude deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are underutilized partly because of their complexity. A simplified rule that can be easily applied would be more appealing to use in clinical practice.
METHODS: We used individual patient data from prospective diagnostic studies of patients suspected of DVT to develop a new clinical decision rule. The primary outcome was presence of DVT either at initial testing or during follow-up. DVT was considered safely excluded if the upper 95% confidence interval of DVT prevalence was < 2%.
RESULTS: Four studies and 3368 patients were eligible for this analysis. Overall prevalence of DVT was 17%. In addition to D-dimer, two variables, calf swelling and DVT as the most likely diagnosis are included in the new rule. Based on these two variables, two clinical pre-test probability (CPTP) groups were defined; low (none of the two items present) and high (at least one of the items present). DVT can be safely excluded in patients with low CPTP with a D-dimer < 500 ng/mL (prevalence = 0.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.0%, 0.8%), low CPTP with a D-dimer between 500 ng/mL and 1000 ng/mL (prevalence = 0.3%; 95% CI = 0.0%, 1.7%), and D-dimer < 500 ng/mL in patients with high CPTP (prevalence = 0.3%; 95% CI = 0.0%, 1.0%).
CONCLUSIONS: The combination of D-dimer and Wells items resulted in a simple clinical decision rule with 3 items. The results suggest that the rule can safely exclude DVT. Prospective validation is required.
PMID:33834620 | DOI:10.1111/jth.15337