disconcerting leg: a case of deep vein thrombosis with negative D-dimers

ABSTRACT

The annual incidence of deep vein thrombosis [DVT] in the general population in France is about 1% to 1.6%. It can occur without triggering factor identified or in patients with risk factors. We report an original case study of a patient with DVT of the lower limb proven despite a negative D-dimers rate and low predictive score. When the predictive score of venous thromboembolic disease is low, the diagnostic strategy is that D-dimers are assayed for eliminating DVT, the negative predictive value being very high, around 94% to 100%. The use of Doppler ultrasound is then recommended. The cases of false negatives reported in the literature are few and question the false negative D-dimers etiologies