D - dimers assay as an adjunct to diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis

ABSTRACT

To determine the frequency of raised D-dimer in patients of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis [CVST] at Neurology Department, Military Hospital Rawalpindi. Descriptive study. One year duration conducted in the Department of Neurology at Military Hospital Rawalpindi from 1[st] May 2010 to 1[st] May 2011. Thirty patients were selected randomly from Neurology Department, who were recently diagnosed cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis [CVST] on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and magnetic resonance venography [MRV]. D-dimer test samples were drawn and subjected to latex agglutination test. There were 22[73.33%] males and 8[26.67%] females in our study. D dimmer assay analyses revealed 90% [27 patients] as positive and 10% [3 patients] as negative. Raised D-dimer levels are highly suggestive of CVST provided other conditions are clinically excluded and they can be used as an adjunct in the diagnosis of cerebral venous thrombosis