Agen Inc. It measures blood levels of a substance called D-dimer, a byproduct of blood clots. Using the test in an intensive care unit, Marin H. Kollef, M.D., and colleagues were able to identify the presence of most clots and were able to rule out the diagnosis in up to 20 percent of patients with suspected clots. They reported their findings on Nov. 8 at the 64th Annual International Scientific Assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians in Toronto.
Clots are a major problem for critically ill patients.
They can migrate and kill patients if they move into blood vessels in the lung or other organs. He tested 98 patients admitted to the unit, taking a small blood sample and checking it for the presence of D-dimer. Although blood for the D-dimer test was drawn at the time of admission to the intensive care unit, the investigational test was delayed for several days. About a quarter of the study patients had a diagnosis of blood clots requiring treatment, but the number of suspected clots was much higher. Often a clot will be suspected after trauma or surgery to the leg.