Increased D-dimer is associated with disease progression and increased mortality in Turkish COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Objective: Coagulopathy is thought to play an important role in the development of severe COVID-19. High D-dimer levels have been
 reported in Chinese cohort studies. However, ethnicity has significant implications for thrombotic risk. Our aim in this study is to
 determine the effect of D-dimer measurements on disease prognosis and mortality in Turkish patients with COVID-19.
 Patients and Methods: The study was designed retrospectively. Patients over the age of 18 who were admitted to our hospital were
 included in the study.
 Results: The study included 226 patients. According to the World Health Organization staging, 75(33.2%) patients, according to the
 staging of Siddiqi et al., 67 (29.7%) patients progressed. In the ROC analysis performed to predict mortality, AUC value for D-dimer
 was found to be 82.25% (95%CI 74.8%-89.71%). When the cut-off value for D-dimer was accepted as ≥3.25mg/L, specificity was
 94.15%, correctly classified rate 88.5%, positive likelihood ratio as (LR):5.69, negative LR:0.71.
 Conclusion: As a result, similar to the Chinese cohorts, elevated D-dimer measurements increase disease progression and mortality
 in Turkish patients with COVID-19. D-dimer levels of 3.25 mg/L and above, strongly determine the risk of increased mortality in the
 Turkish Caucasian ethnic group.