Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38232069›Full record

Observational studyPloS one2024

D-dimer levels to exclude pulmonary embolism and reduce the need for CT angiography in COVID-19 in an outpatient population.

Anita Kovács, Dóra Hantosi, Nikoletta Szabó, Annamária Letoha, Csaba Lengyel, Imre Földesi, Katalin Burián, András Palkó, Dániel Veréb, Zsigmond Tamás Kincses

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Anita KovácsDepartment of Radiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Dóra HantosiDepartment of Radiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Nikoletta SzabóDepartment of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Annamária LetohaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Csaba LengyelDepartment of Internal Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Imre FöldesiDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Katalin BuriánDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
András PalkóDepartment of Radiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Dániel VerébDepartment of Radiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Zsigmond Tamás KincsesDepartment of Radiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Center, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0002-1442-4475
University of Szeged · HU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesEmerging results indicate that, in COVID-19, thromboembolic complications contribute to the high mortality and morbidity. Previous research showed that the prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) is between 25-50% in COVID-19 patients, however, most of these reports are based on data from patients with severe pneumonia, treated in intensive care units. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe conducted a retrospective, single-center, observational study to estimate the prevalence of PE in COVID-19 patients who underwent CT angiography and to identify the most important predictors. Adult outpatients with COVID-19, who presented at our COVID Outpatient Clinic between 1st and 31st of March in 2021 and underwent CTA examination were included in this study. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of PE in COVID-19 patients. The predictors were: age, gender, disease duration, CT severity index and log-transformed quantitative D-dimer (logQDDIM) value.

results843 COVID-19 patients were included into the study. 82.56% (693 patients) of the infected patients had a pulmonary CTA examination and D-dimer levels (mean age: 59.82 years ± 15.66). 7.61% (53 patients) of the patients had PE. 2.02% (14 patients) of the patients had main branch or lobar PE. The multiple regression analysis found that only logQDDIM was a significant predictor. A logQDDIM cut-off value of 0.0169 (1.0171 ug/ml serum D-dimer) predicted PE with 99% sensitivity (p<0.0001, degree-of-freedom = 570, AUC = 0.72).

conclusionsWe demonstrated in a large cohort of COVID-19 patients that a cut-off value of QDDIM of 1ug/ml can exclude pulmonary embolism in an outpatient setting, implicating that QDDIM might potentially supersede CTA as a screening approach in COVID-19 outpatient clinics.

Indexed as

COVID-19Pulmonary EmbolismAdultComputed Tomography AngiographyFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation ProductsHumansMiddle AgedOutpatientsRetrospective StudiesFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Productsfibrin fragment D

Identifiers

PMID38232069
PMCPMC10793879
OpenAlexW4390953733

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.