ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the dynamic changes in plasma D-dimer and its prognostic value in children with severe hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 95 children who suffered from HFMD between May 2010 and September 2012, including 65 cases of severe HFMD (observation group) and 30 cases of non-severe HFMD (control group), were enrolled in the study. Plasma D-dimer levels of the observation group on days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were compared with plasma D-dimer levels of the control group on day 1 after admission. In the observation group, plasma D-dimer levels on days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were compared. The prognostic value of plasma D-dimer was analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 65 cases in the observation group, 15 died, and 50 survived. All the 30 cases in the control group survived. Plasma D-dimer levels in the observation group on days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were significantly higher than in the control group on day 1 after admission (P<0.05). In the observation group, there were significant differences between plasma D-dimer levels on days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (P<0.01), and plasma D-dimer level was the highest on day 1 after admission and second highest on the next day. Of the patients in the observation group, those who died had significantly higher plasma D-dimer levels on day 1 after admission than those who survived (P<0.05). In the observation group, plasma D-dimer levels on day 1 after onset had an area under the ROC curve of 0.877 (95% confidence interval: 0.785-0.969) and an optimal cut-off value of 582.10 μg/L (80% sensitivity and 78% specificity) for predicting mortality.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Children with severe HFMD have significantly increased plasma D-dimer levels, and the severer the condition, the higher the value. Plasma D-dimer levels can be used as one of the important indices for assessing the severity and prognosis of severe HFMD.</p>