Natural Kicetics of d-Dimers After Surgery Clinical Trial
Official title:
The Kinetics of D-Dimers After Abdominal Surgery as a Function of the Invasiveness of Surgery
The purpose of this study is to investigate the natural kinetics of D-dimers that occur after abdominal surgery.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potentially fatal disease with an estimated incidence of
0.1%. One third of the VTE occur as pulmonal embolism with a mortality up to 25% (White RH.
Circulation 107:2003)
Serum d-dimer levels are used as sensitive marker for the diagnosis of VTE (Kelly J et al.
Arch Intern Med, 162: 2002). Because of its sensitivity, the determination of serum D-dimer
levels is an accepted method to exclude VTE in the outpatient setting meaning that VTE may
be excluded in case of normal D-dimer levels (Kelly J. Lancet 359: 2002). The specificity of
the D-dimer testing, however, is low. This is true especially in the postoperative phase.
The interpretation of elevated D-dimer levels in surgical patients remains elusive.
The natural kinetics of D-dimers after surgery is not known. The question to what extent
D-dimer levels rise after surgery and how long it may take D-dimer levels to return to
normal after surgery is not yet determined. This information is needed to be able to use
D-dimer testing for VTE diagnosis in surgical patients.
In this study, D-dimer levels are measured in surgical patients immediately before (day 0)
and repeatedly after surgery. D-dimer level measurement will be stopped after D-dimer levels
returned to normal.
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Time Perspective: Prospective