Clinical evaluation of plasma D-dimer concentrations as a marker for thromboembolism in cattle with inflammation

Plasma D-dimer concentrations were measured in 15 cases with thromboembolism and 19 cases without thromboembolism among bovine patients with inflammatory diseases, and the clinical usefulness of plasma D-dimer as a thromboembolic marker was evaluated. No significant difference in plasma D-dimer concentrations was observed between the two groups. A receiver operating characteristic curve was created, and with a plasma D-dimer cutoff value of 0.38 mg/L, the sensitivity and the specificity were 86.7% and 31.2%, respectively. Furthermore, there was a large variability in plasma D-dimer concentrations in cases with thromboembolism. These results indicate that the measurement of plasma D-dimer alone in the diagnosis of thromboembolism in cattle does not have sufficient specificity. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis regarding thromboembolism detection, platelet count was significant in the likelihood ratio test, suggesting that considering platelet count in addition to plasma D-dimer may allow for the detection of thromboembolism.