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Wang S, Lu M, Zhao Z, Peng X, Li L, Cheng C, Fang M, Xia Y, Liu Y. Plasma levels of D-dimer and fibrin degradation products correlate with bullous pemphigoid severity: a cross-sectional study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:17746. [PMID: 34493780 PMCID: PMC8423823 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97202-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Bullous pemphigoid (BP), the most frequent blistering dermatosis in the elderly, is associated with increased mortality. The severity of BP can be assessed by detecting the anti-BP180 immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration, but the lab test is not available in many community clinics. BP patients are usually in a hypercoagulable state with increased levels of D-dimer and fibrin degradation products (FDPs). We aimed to evaluate the use of D-dimer and FDPs in assessing BP severity. We compared the levels of plasma D-dimer, plasma FDPs, eosinophil counts, eosinophil cationic protein, and serum anti-BP180 IgG concentration between 48 typical BP patients and 33 Herpes zoster (HZ) patients (control group). Correlational analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between the lab values and common BP severity markers. The plasma D-dimer and FDP levels were higher in BP patients than in HZ controls (D-dimer: 3297 ± 2517 µg/L vs. 569.70 ± 412.40 µg/L; FDP: 9.74 ± 5.88 mg/L vs. 2.02 ± 1.69 mg/L, respectively, P < 0.0001). Significant positive correlations were found between D-dimer/FDP levels and BP severity markers (i.e. anti-BP180 IgG concentration [D-dimer: r = 0.3928, P = 0.0058; FDP: r = 0.4379, P = 0.0019] and eosinophil counts [D-dimer: r = 0.3625, P = 0.0013; FDP: r = 0.2880, P = 0.0472]) in BP patients. We also found an association between FDP and urticaria/erythema lesions (r = 0.3016, P = 0.0372), but no other BPDAI components. In 19 BP patients with complete remission after systemic glucocorticoid treatment, D-dimer and FDP levels decreased post-therapy (D-dimer: 5559 ± 7492 µg/L vs. 1738 ± 1478 µg/L; P < 0.0001; FDP: 11.20 ± 5.88 mg/L vs. 5.13 ± 3.44 mg/L; P = 0.0003), whereas they did not in BP patients with treatment resistant. Plasma D-dimer and FDP are convenient markers to evaluate BP severity assistant on BPDAI and eosinophil counts. FDP is also helpful for inflammatory lesions in BP patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijia Wang
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Mei Lu
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Zijun Zhao
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Xueting Peng
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Liang Li
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Chuantao Cheng
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Min Fang
- Department of Health Checkup, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yumin Xia
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China.
| | - Yale Liu
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi Province, China.
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Rudolf JW, Baron JM, Dighe AS. Order Indication Solicitation to Assess Clinical Laboratory Test Utilization: D-Dimer Order Patterns as an Illustrative Case. J Pathol Inform 2019; 10:36. [PMID: 31897353 PMCID: PMC6909549 DOI: 10.4103/jpi.jpi_46_19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: A common challenge in the development of laboratory clinical decision support (CDS) and laboratory utilization management (UM) initiatives stems from the fact that many laboratory tests have multiple potential indications, limiting the ability to develop context-specific alerts. As a potential solution, we designed a CDS alert that asks the ordering clinician to provide the indication for testing, using D-dimer as an exemplar. Using data collected over a nearly 3-year period, we sought to determine whether the indication capture was a useful feature within the CDS alert and whether it provided actionable intelligence to guide the development of an UM strategy. Methods: We extracted results and ordering data for D-dimer testing performed in our laboratory over a 35-month period. We analyzed order patterns by clinical indication, hospital service, and length of hospitalization. Results: Our final data set included 13,971 result-order combinations and indeed provided actionable intelligence regarding test utilization patterns. For example, pulmonary embolism was the most common emergency department indication (86%), while disseminated intravascular coagulation was the most common inpatient indication (56%). D-dimer positivity rates increased with the duration of hospitalization and our data suggested limited utility for ordering this test in the setting of suspected venous thromboembolic disease in admitted patients. In addition, we found that D-dimer was ordered for unexpected indications including the assessment of stroke, dissection, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Conclusions: Indication capture within a CDS alert and correlation with result data can provide insight into order patterns which can be used to develop future CDS strategies to guide appropriate test use by clinical indication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph W Rudolf
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.,Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jason M Baron
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anand S Dighe
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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