A comparison of three rapid D‐dimer methods for the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism

We compared three rapid d‐dimer methods for the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism. Patients presenting to four teaching hospitals with the possible diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism were investigated with a combination of clinical likelihood, d‐dimer (SimpliRED) and initial non‐invasive testing. Patients were assigned as being positive or negative for deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism based on their three‐month outcome and initial test results. The three d‐dimer methods compared were: (a) Accuclot d‐dimer (b) IL‐Test d‐dimer (c) SimpliRED d‐dimer. Of 993 patients, 141 had objectively confirmed deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. The sensitivity of SimpliRED, Accuclot and IL‐Test were 79, 90 and 87% respectively. All three d‐dimer tests gave similar negative predictive values. The SimpliRED d‐dimer was found to be less sensitive than the Accuclot or IL‐Test. When combined with pre‐test probability all three methods are probably acceptable for use in the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.