NY
A 27-year-old female asked:
Does a negative d dimer rule out a dvt and pe? been having chest and calf pain, but er dr said that i didn't need any more tests since it was negative
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Saptarshi Bandyopadhyayanswered
Hospital-based practice 23 years experience
99.5% of time, nothi: The D-Dimer, if negative, does a fairly good job of ruling out DVT/PE, but isn't absolute (no test is absolute 4 everything). 99.5% of the time a neg D-Dimer means no DVT/PE. (But 1 out of 200+ times it could be falsely reassuring). Not knowing ur specific condition, it's reasonable to look elsewhere 4 the cause of ur symptoms (chest, calf pain) w/ other tests perhaps. TTY regular doc about it.
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Dr. Mark Dicksonanswered
General Surgery 25 years experience
Essentially yes: A D-dimer can have a lot of false positive results, but few false negatives. Someone who doesn't have any other risk factors for a blood clot, such as obesity, cancer, a blood clotting disorder (called a hypercoagulable state), or others, may not need another test. Someone who has worrisome risk factors or exam may warrant one, such as an ultrasound of the leg veins or a CT of the chest.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated May 23, 2015
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