d-Dimer is a biomarker of fibrin formation and degradation. While a d-dimer within normal limits is used to rule out the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism among patients with a low clinical probability of venous thromboembolism (VTE), the prognostic association of an elevated d-dimer with adverse outcomes has received far less emphasis. An elevated d-dimer is independently associated with an increased risk for incident VTE, recurrent VTE, and mortality. An elevated d-dimer is an independent correlate of increased mortality and subsequent VTE across a broad variety of disease states. Therefore, medically ill subjects in whom the d-dimer is elevated constitute a high risk subgroup in which the prospective evaluation of the efficacy and safety of antithrombotic therapy is warranted.
