Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically affected global health. Despite several studies, there is yet a dearth of data regarding the mechanisms of cardiac injury, clinical presentation, risk factors and treatment of COVID-19-associated cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.
Do elevated D-dimer levels increase risk of severity and mortality of COVID-19?
Study design:
This review article included 16 retrospective and 2 prospective studies with a total of 3,682 COVID-19 patients.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) demonstrated significantly elevated D-dimer levels in patients who died versus those who survived [WMD = 6.13 mg/L, 95% CI = 4.16 to 8.11, p 0.001].
The investigators found, similarly, the pooled mean D-dimer levels were significantly elevated in patients with severe COVID-19 infection [WMD = 0.54 mg/L, 95% CI = 0.28 to 0.80, p 0.001].
The investigators found the risk of mortality was four-fold higher in patients with positive D-dimer vs. negative D-dimer [risk ratio = 4.11, 95% CI = 2.48 to 6.84, p 0.001].
The investigators found the risk of developing severe disease was two-fold higher in patients with positive D-dimer levels vs. negative D-dimer [risk ratio = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.34 to 3.11, p 0.001].
The investigators concluded that patients with COVID-19 infection presenting with elevated D-dimer levels have an increased risk of severe disease and mortality.
Original title:
Elevated D-Dimer Levels are Associated with Increased Risk of Mortality in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Shah S, Shah K, […], Garg J.
Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32665526/
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on coronavirus right here.
A positive D-dimer result may indicate the presence of an abnormally high level of fibrin degradation products. It indicates that there may be significant blood clot (thrombus) formation and breakdown in the body, but it does not tell the location or cause.