D-dimer

- Sample type:

Blood should be collected in a blue-top tube containing 3.2% buffered sodium citrate

- Uses:

D-dimer test is used to find out if you have a blood clotting disorder. These disorders include: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that’s deep inside a vein.

- Precautions:

Avoid contaminating the sample with tissue thromboplastin or heparin. Venipuncture must be performed with no trauma. Hemolysis samples are not acceptable.

- Interfering factors:

There are several physiologic states or medical conditions that may cause patients to have an elevated D-dimer in the absence of PE, DVT, or DIC. These include but are not limited to pregnancy, malignancy, cigarette smoking, trauma, or infection, or sepsis.

- Pre analytical errors:

1) Sample collection

2) needle size, collection tube,

3) sample delivery to the laboratory (e.g. pneumatic tube system (PTS), temperature),

4) Sample processing (e.g. centrifugation, hemolysis samples.

- Corrective action:

(i) It is done in the serum.

(ii) Collect 2 ml blood in a test tube containing Thrombin, soybean, and Trypsin inhibitor.

- Post analytical errors:

(iii) Evaluation of test results

(iv) Decision to release test results

(v) Preparation of the laboratory test report

(vi) Release of the laboratory test report

- Reference rang :

The reference concentration of D-dimer is < 250 ng/mL, or < 0.4 μ/m