ANALYSIS OF D-DIMERS – ONE OF THE MAIN INDICATORS FOR DIAGNOSING DEEP VEIN THOMBOSIS

Abstract

The third, most common cardiovascular disease, after heart attack and stroke, is deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Deep vein thrombosis is a disease of the lower extremities that is manifested by abnormal clotting of blood in the deep veins (mostly the veins of the leg or pelvis), that is, by the formation of a thrombus. At the same time, the blood clot formed in this way can be small or large. Fortunately, most blood clots are small, harmless, and resolve with relatively simple treatment. But on the other hand, large blood clots can travel from veins in the leg or pelvis and pass through the venous system traveling to the heart and then to the lungs. They can cause serious cardiovascular problems (reduction of venous flow, tissue damage). Additionally, in case the lungs are affected i.e. the tumor causes blockage of the pulmonary artery then it is a pulmonary embolism (PE) which is an extremely serious medical condition that can be fatal. Based on the seriousness of this disease, the purpose of this scientific publication is to present the number of Deep vein thrombosis patients in the region of Kicevo in the period from 2019 to 2023. The research was carried out at the Center for Public Health in the municipality of Kicevo and included 950 patients with Deep vein thrombosis. Of them, 680 were women, while 270 were men. At the same time, an analysis of the D-dimer value in the blood was made in all of them because it is the main indicator of Deep vein thrombosis or BE. Patients with a negative D-dimer test were excluded from the study. Finally, the study included 502 women and 266 men who tested positive for D-dimer. Furthermore, patients were categorized by gender, age, and whether or not they had smoked for more than 10 years. Furthermore, the obtained results were processed using the Microsoft Office package (Microsoft Excel) and they are tabular and graphical presented. The obtained results indicate the fact that Deep vein thrombosis is closely related to the way of life of the respondents, gender, age, as well as the history of diseases. In terms of lifestyle, it can be said that smokers have greater predispositions for the development of Deep vein thrombosis and BE. While, in relation to gender, higher values of D-dimers were identified in women. In relation to age, on the other hand, higher values for D-dimers were identified in patients aged 20-40 years, as well as in patients aged 40-60 years and in both populations. In addition, of all categories of people, special attention should be paid to the risk groups that are subject to this disease and they should have more frequent medical controls (physical examination of the superficial veins, analysis of the D-dimer value and/or ultrasound) as and appropriate treatments according to the results of the examination.