What level of D-dimers can safely exclude pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department?

Objectives To identify which level of D-dimer would allow the safe exclusion of pulmonary embolism (PE) in COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods This retrospective study was conducted on the COVID database of Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP). COVID-19 patients who presented at the ED of AP-HP hospitals between March 1 and May 15, 2020, and had CTPA following D-dimer dosage within 48h of presentation were included. The D-dimer sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for different D-dimer thresholds, as well as the false-negative and failure rates, and the number of CTPAs potentially avoided. Results A total of 781 patients (mean age 62.0 years, 53.8% men) with positive RT-PCR for SARS-Cov-2 were included and 60 of them (7.7%) had CTPA-confirmed PE. Their median D-dimer level was significantly higher than that of patients without PE (4,013 vs 1,198 ng center dot mL(-1), p < 0.001). Using 500 ng center dot mL(-1), or an age-adjusted cut-off for patients > 50 years, the sensitivity and the NPV were above 90%. With these thresholds, 17.1% and 31.5% of CTPAs could have been avoided, respectively. Four of the 178 patients who had a D-dimer below the age-adjusted cutoff had PE, leading to an acceptable failure rate of 2.2%. Using higher D-dimer cut-offs could have avoided more CTPAs, but would have lowered the sensitivity and increased the failure rate. Conclusion The same D-Dimer thresholds as those validated in non-COVID outpatients should be used to safely rule out PE.

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify the D-dimer levels that would allow the safe exclusion of pulmonary embolism (PE) in COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department. The results showed that the D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients with PE compared to those without PE. Using specific D-dimer thresholds, PE could be safely ruled out and the number of unnecessary CTPA scans could be reduced.