Effectiveness of D-dimer test for detecting deep venous thrombosis in pregnant women with threatened premature delivery and abortion

Abstract Background Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in pregnant women often developed pulmonary thrombosis, which could lead to death if detection and treatment are delayed. Thus, early detection and treatment of detect DVT in pregnant women should be performed. The aim of our study was to investigate the normal range of D-dimer levels and identify the cutoff value of D-dimer to detect DVT in pregnant women with threatened premature delivery and abortion.Methods All singleton pregnant women hospitalized for longer than 4 days due to threatened premature delivery and abortion were identified. D-dimer levels were measured at least once per week from hospitalization to delivery. We classified pregnant women into DVT or non-DVT group.Results In our study, 335 pregnant women were included. A total of 3722 blood samples were obtained. There were 6 women in the DVT group and 329 in the non-DVT group. There were more women complicated with thrombophilia in the DVT group (p<0.01). The means and standard deviations of D-dimer levels in the non-DVT group were 1.75±0.19 μg/mL before 28 weeks, 2.75±0.1 μg/mL from 28 to 35 weeks, and 3.22±0.21 μg/mL after 35 weeks. When the cutoff value of the D-dimer to detect DVT was set at 4.8 μg/mL, the sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 85.86%, respectively.Conclusion D-dimer levels of pregnant women with threatened premature delivery and abortion gradually increased as gestational age progressed. The appropriate D-dimer cut-off levels might be useful in the detection of DVT.