D-dimer levels and risk of recurrence following provoked venous thromboembolism: findings from the RIETE registry

Identifying novel biomarkers using proteomics to predict cancer-associated thrombosis

Comprehensive protein analyses of plasma are made possible by high-throughput proteomic screens, which may help find new therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers. Patients with cancer are frequently affected by venous thromboembolism (VTE). The limited predictive accuracy of current VTE risk assessment tools highlights the need for new, more targeted biomarkers. Although coagulation biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of VTE have been investigated, none of them have the necessary clinical validation or diagnostic accuracy. Proteomics holds the potential to uncover new biomarkers and thrombotic pathways that impact the risk of thrombosis. This review explores the fundamental methods used in proteomics and focuses on particular biomarkers found in VTE and cancer-associated thrombosis.

Analytical performance of a new immunoturbidimetric D‐dimer assay and comparison with available assays

Background

The routine D‐dimer quantification to exclude venous thromboembolism has led to the development of many assays, the usefulness of which depends on their reliability and performance.

Objective

We evaluated the analytical performances of the immunoturbidimetric Yumizen G DDi 2 assay (HORIBA Medical, Montpellier, France) performed on the Yumizen G800 analyzer and compared it with other available D‐dimer assays.

Methods

Within‐run and between‐run imprecision were evaluated using low‐ and high‐level quality‐control plasma samples. Interference due to hemolysis, icterus, lipemia, rheumatoid factor (RF), or heterophilic antibodies (human antimouse antibodies [HAMAs]) was evaluated by spiking plasma samples with hemolysate, bilirubin, Intralipid, RF, or HAMAs. The measurements obtained with the different D‐dimer assays were compared using Passing‐Bablok regression analysis and Bland‐Altman plot method, using fresh citrated plasma samples collected from 66 consecutive routine patients with a wide range of D‐dimer concentrations.

Results

Within‐ and between‐run variation coefficients for the Yumizen G DDi 2 assay ranged from 1.7% to 5.8% and from 2.8% to 5.5%, respectively. Hemolysis and icterus did not have any effect up to 10 g/L hemoglobin and 300 mg/L bilirubin. Lipemia seemed to generate an underestimation of D‐dimer concentration when the Intralipid concentration was >5 g/L. RF and HAMAs did not have any effect. The Passing‐Bablok and Bland‐Altman analyses showed small differences with other available D‐dimer assays, which were more pronounced with increasing values.

Conclusions

Its analytical performances and main technical features indicate that the new Yumizen G DDi 2 assay is suitable for the rapid quantification of D‐dimer in clinical hemostasis laboratories.

Prediction value of plasma D-dimer level changes on venous thromboembolism during pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

To explore the changes in plasma D-dimer (D-D) levels of pregnant women during pregnancy and their predictive value for venous thromboembolism (VTE).

METHODS

A selection of 240 pregnant women who came to our hospital for routine perinatal care and delivery from January 2018 to January 2019 were selected as the observation group, and 240 cases that came to our hospital for routine physical examination were served as the control group. The D-D levels of the two groups of women were compared, and the D-D levels of pregnant women in the observation group with different delivery methods were explored; the observation group was into VTE and non-VTE groups according to the occurrence of VTE, and the D-D levels of the two groups of pregnant women in different periods were compared, and its predictive value on VTE was analyzed.

RESULTS

The observation group exhibited a notably higher D-D level than the control group (p < .001), and the D-D level of the observation group during the first trimester was lower than the second and third trimesters, with statistical difference observed (p < .001), and the second trimester was much lower than the third trimester (p < .001); the D-D level in pregnant women with vaginal delivery showed lower level when comparing with women with cesarean section (p < .001); the D-D level of the VTE group was remarkably higher than that of the non-VTE group (p < .05); the D-D level during the second trimester had the highest predictive value for VTE, with the optimal cutoff value of 1.40 mg/L, the sensitivity of 69.3%, and the specificity of 76.7%, and AUC = 0.73.

CONCLUSION

The D-D of pregnant women during pregnancy showed an increase trend with the gestational weeks, and they were all beyond the normal range. The D-D level in the second trimester has the highest predictive value for VTE.

Diagnostic accuracy of D-Dimer testing for recurrent venous thromboembolism: A systematic review with meta-analysis.: VTE recurrence and D-dimer

OBJECTIVE

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence is a major concern after a first symptomatic episode, potentially impacting survival and healthcare needs in community, hospital and rehabilitation settings. We evaluated the association of D-Dimer positivity after oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) discontinuation with VTE recurrence.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and EMBASE databases were systematically searched. Differences were expressed as Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and summary ROC (sROC) curve were calculated.

RESULTS

Twenty-six articles on 10,725 VTE patients showed that the absolute risk of recurrence was 16.1% (95%CI: 13.2%-19.5%) among 4,049 patients with a positive D-Dimer and 7.4% (95%CI: 6.0%-9.0%) in 6,676 controls (OR: 2.1, 95%CI: 1.7-2.8, P<0.001), with an attributable risk of 54.0%. sROC curve of the association between positive D-Dimer and recurrence showed a diagnostic AUC of 63.8 (95%CI: 60.3-67.4), with a pooled sensitivity of 54.3% (95%CI: 51.3%-57.3%), specificity of 64.2% (95%CI: 63.2-65.1), PLR of 1.53 (95%CI: 1.37-1.72), and NLR of 0.71 (95%CI: 0.60-0.84). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses suggested that a positive D-Dimer may have a higher discriminatory ability for patients with provoked events, confirmed by better pooled diagnostic indexes for recurrence and a diagnostic AUC of 70.6 (95%CI: 63.8-77.4). Regression models showed that the rate of OAT resumption after the evidence of D-Dimer positivity was inversely associated with VTE recurrence (Z-score: -3.91, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

D-Dimer positivity after OAT may identify VTE patients at higher risk of recurrence, with a better diagnostic accuracy for provoked events.

Individualised Risk Assessments for Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism: New Frontiers in the Era of Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and is associated with high recurrence rates. The introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the 2010s has changed the landscape of VTE management. DOACs have become the preferred anticoagulant therapy for their ease of use, predictable pharmacokinetics, and improved safety profile. Increasingly, guidelines have recommended long term anticoagulation for some indications such as following first unprovoked major VTE, although an objective individualised risk assessment for VTE recurrence remains elusive. The balance of preventing VTE recurrence needs to be weighed against the not insignificant bleeding risk, which is cumulative with prolonged use. Hence, there is a need for an individualised, targeted approach for assessing the risk of VTE recurrence, especially in those patients in whom the balance between benefit and risk of long-term anticoagulation is not clear. Clinical factors alone do not provide the level of discrimination required on an individual level. Laboratory data from global coagulation assays and biomarkers may provide enhanced risk assessment ability and are an active area of research. A review of the prediction models and biomarkers for assessing VTE recurrence risk is provided, with an emphasis on contemporary developments in the era of DOACs and global coagulation assays.

Predicting the occurrence of venous thromboembolism: construction and verification of risk warning model

Background

The onset of venous thromboembolism is insidious and the prognosis is poor. In this study, we aimed to construct a VTE risk warning model and testified its clinical application value.

Methods

Preliminary construction of the VTE risk warning model was carried out according to the independent risk warning indicators of VTE screened by Logistic regression analysis. The truncated value of screening VTE was obtained and the model was evaluated. ROC curve analysis was used to compare the test of Caprini risk assessment scale and VTE risk warning model. The cut-off value of the VTE risk warning model was used to evaluate the test effectiveness of the model for VTE patients with validation data set.

Results

The VTE risk warning model is p = e^x / (1+ e^x), x = − 4.840 + 2.557 • X₁₀₍₁₎ + 1.432 • X₁₄₍₁₎ + 2.977 • X₁₅₍₁₎ + 3.445 • X₁₈₍₁₎ + 1.086 • X₂₅₍₁₎ + 0.249 • X₃₄ + 0.282 • X₄₁. ROC curve results show that: AUC (95%CI), cutoff value, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Youden index, Caprini risk assessment scale is 0.596 (0.552, 0.638), 5, 26.07, 96.50, 61.3%, 0.226, VTE risk warning model is 0.960 (0.940, 0.976), 0.438, 92.61, 91.83, 92.2%, 0.844, respectively, with statistically significant differences (Z = 14.521, P < 0.0001). The accuracy and Youden index of VTE screening using VTE risk warning model were 81.8 and 62.5%, respectively.

Conclusions

VTE risk warning model had high accuracy in predicting VTE occurrence in hospitalized patients. Its test performance was better than Caprini risk assessment scale. It also had high test performance in external population.