Diagnostic value of D-dimer for lower extremity deep venous thrombosis caused by rib fracture: a retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of D-dimer in the diagnosis of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients with rib fractures. METHOD: Retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 499 patients with rib fractures who were admitted to the Third Hospital of Shijiazhuang between October 2020 and September 2021. These patients were divided into the DVT and the non-DVT groups. D-dimer levels were compared between the two groups at 24, 48, and 72 h after the injury. Receiver operating characteristic curves were utilized to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of dynamically monitoring changes in D-dimer for DVT. RESULTS: The D-dimer levels in the DVT group were significantly higher than those in the non-DVT group at 24, 48, and 72 h after the injury. The area under the curve values for predicting DVT based on D-dimer level at 24, 48, and 72 h after injury in patients with rib fractures were 0.788, 0.605, and 0.568, respectively. CONCLUSION: Detecting D-dimer levels 24 h after the injury can enhance diagnostic efficacy and sensitivity for DVT, thereby reducing the rate of missed diagnoses, which is of great clinical value.