Korean J Lab Med.  2004 Feb;24(1):7-10.

The Influence of Anticoagulants and Time of Measurements on D-Dimer Determinations

• Kwon HJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND
We evaluated the effects of anticoagulants used in blood sampling and time of mesurements after blood collection on D-dimer determinations. METHODS: A total of 32 samples of sodium citrated plasma, and 23 samples each of serum and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) plasma, were studied. D-dimer was measured by enzyme linked fluorescent assay using a VIDAS analyzer. RESULTS: The mean+/-SD (median) of D-dimer titers in citrated plasma, serum, and EDTA plasma samples immediately after blood collection were 282.7+/-201.1 (224.6) microgram/L, 255.1+/-206.8 (197.3) microgram/L, and 313.3+/-230.8 (246.4) microgram/L respectively. The results obtained for the three different sample groups were well correlated. While the upper limit of the reference range for D-dimer for citrated plasma has been set at 500 microgram/L, the cut-off values for serum and EDTA plasma were 400 microgram/L (100%sensitivity and specificity), and 585 microgram/L (100% sensitivity and 94.7% specificity), respectively CONCLUSIONS: In addition to citrated plasma, both serum and EDTA plasma can be used for D-dimer assay. A delay in the time of measurements after blood collection does not influence the results significantly.

Keyword

D-dimer; Anticoagulant; Delayed test time

MeSH Terms

Anticoagulants*
Edetic Acid
Plasma
Reference Values
Sodium
Anticoagulants
Edetic Acid
Sodium