Elevated plasma D-dimer levels in dermatomyositis patients with cutaneous manifestations

To explore the influence of dermatomyositis (DM)-specific cutaneous manifestations (scm) on systemic coagulation and fibrinolysis, we retrospectively studied plasma D-dimer levels with/without venous thromboembolism (VTE), malignancy, infection or other connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and scm. One hundred fifty patients with DM were retrospectively investigated using medical records regarding scm, VTE, malignancy, infection, other CTDs, laboratory data and systemic corticosteroid therapy. All DM patients were categorized as follows: group 1, without scm, VTE, infection, malignancy or other accompanying CTDs; group 2, with scm only; and group 3, with VTE, infection, malignancy and other accompanying CTDs but without scm. The D-dimer plasma levels were significantly increased in group 3 compared with healthy subjects and those in groups 1 and 2 ( p