d-Dimer Testing in Pregnancy: Clinically Useful, but at What Cost?

  1. Wee-Shian Chan, MD, MSc; and
  2. Jeffrey S. Ginsberg, MD
  1. From Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1B2, Canada, and McMaster University Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada.

    IN RESPONSE:

    Drs. Lippi and Montagnana raise 2 important issues about our study of pregnant women with suspected DVT: The low specificity and positive predictive value of the d-dimer test (SimpliRED) and the relatively small number of patients with DVT (n = 13) in our cohort result in wide 95% CIs associated with the sensitivity and negative predictive value of the test.

    We agree that the positive predictive value is far too low to conclude that an abnormal test …

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    1. Ann Intern Med March 18, 2008 vol. 148 no. 6 484-485
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