General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands
Objectives To investigate how many general practitioner (GP)-referred venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) are diagnosed during 1 year in one geographical region and to investigate the (urgent) referral pathway of VTE diagnoses, including the role of laboratory D-dimer testing.Design Historical cohor...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2019-05-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/5/e026846.full |
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| author | Angel M R Schols Eline Meijs Geert-Jan Dinant Henri E J H Stoffers Mariëlle M E Krekels Jochen W L Cals |
| author_facet | Angel M R Schols Eline Meijs Geert-Jan Dinant Henri E J H Stoffers Mariëlle M E Krekels Jochen W L Cals |
| author_sort | Angel M R Schols |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To investigate how many general practitioner (GP)-referred venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) are diagnosed during 1 year in one geographical region and to investigate the (urgent) referral pathway of VTE diagnoses, including the role of laboratory D-dimer testing.Design Historical cohort study.Setting GP patients of 47 general practices in a demarcated geographical region of 161 503 inhabitants in the Netherlands.Participants We analysed all 895 primary care patients in whom either the GP determined a D-dimer value or who had a diagnostic work-up for suspected VTE in a non-academic hospital during 2015.Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcomes of this study were the total number of VTEs per year and the diagnostic pathways—including the role of GP determined D-dimer testing—of patients urgently referred to secondary care for suspected VTE. Additionally, we explored the use of an age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off.Results The annual VTE incidence was 0.9 per 1000 inhabitants. GPs annually ordered 5.1 D-dimer tests per 1000 inhabitants. Of 470 urgently GP-referred patients, 31.3% had a VTE. Of those urgently referred based on clinical assessment only (without D-dimer testing), 73.8% (96/130) had a VTE; based on clinical assessment and laboratory D-dimer testing yielded 15.0% (51/340) VTE. Applying age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs to all patients aged 50 years or older resulted in a reduction of positive D-dimer results from 97.9% to 79.4%, without missing any VTE.Conclusions Although D-dimer testing contributes to the diagnostic work-up of VTE, GPs have a high detection rate for VTE in patients who they urgently refer to secondary care based on clinical assessment only. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec0e3b9b784a4b94ab82b490fe34e2e5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-05-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec0e3b9b784a4b94ab82b490fe34e2e52025-02-01T20:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-05-019510.1136/bmjopen-2018-026846General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the NetherlandsAngel M R Schols0Eline Meijs1Geert-Jan Dinant2Henri E J H Stoffers3Mariëlle M E Krekels4Jochen W L Cals51 Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, the Netherlands1 Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, the Netherlands1 Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, the Netherlandsgeneral practitioner2 Zuyderland Medical Centre, Sittard, the NetherlandsFamily Medicine, CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The NetherlandsObjectives To investigate how many general practitioner (GP)-referred venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) are diagnosed during 1 year in one geographical region and to investigate the (urgent) referral pathway of VTE diagnoses, including the role of laboratory D-dimer testing.Design Historical cohort study.Setting GP patients of 47 general practices in a demarcated geographical region of 161 503 inhabitants in the Netherlands.Participants We analysed all 895 primary care patients in whom either the GP determined a D-dimer value or who had a diagnostic work-up for suspected VTE in a non-academic hospital during 2015.Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcomes of this study were the total number of VTEs per year and the diagnostic pathways—including the role of GP determined D-dimer testing—of patients urgently referred to secondary care for suspected VTE. Additionally, we explored the use of an age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off.Results The annual VTE incidence was 0.9 per 1000 inhabitants. GPs annually ordered 5.1 D-dimer tests per 1000 inhabitants. Of 470 urgently GP-referred patients, 31.3% had a VTE. Of those urgently referred based on clinical assessment only (without D-dimer testing), 73.8% (96/130) had a VTE; based on clinical assessment and laboratory D-dimer testing yielded 15.0% (51/340) VTE. Applying age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs to all patients aged 50 years or older resulted in a reduction of positive D-dimer results from 97.9% to 79.4%, without missing any VTE.Conclusions Although D-dimer testing contributes to the diagnostic work-up of VTE, GPs have a high detection rate for VTE in patients who they urgently refer to secondary care based on clinical assessment only.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/5/e026846.full |
| spellingShingle | Angel M R Schols Eline Meijs Geert-Jan Dinant Henri E J H Stoffers Mariëlle M E Krekels Jochen W L Cals General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands BMJ Open |
| title | General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands |
| title_full | General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands |
| title_fullStr | General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands |
| title_full_unstemmed | General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands |
| title_short | General practitioner use of D-dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism: historical cohort study in one geographical region in the Netherlands |
| title_sort | general practitioner use of d dimer in suspected venous thromboembolism historical cohort study in one geographical region in the netherlands |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/5/e026846.full |
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