Do you utilize D-dimer to inform anticoagulation duration in the treatment of VTE?

I had developed a policy during my last eight or ten years of practice evaluating how long patients should be treated after a thrombosis and I'd like to share some impressions over these years as well as conclusions that I reached. These conclusions formed the basis of my approach to this problem.

I...

I use D-dimer in patients with unprovoked clots who are unsure if they want to continue long-term anticoagulation or not. I follow the excellent algorithm (Fig. 1) outlined in the Kearon/Kahn Blood review series.

I find that most patients now opt to continue anticoagulation given the ease of doac us...

I tend to use D-dimer more often than is recommended in guidelines. My late mentor, Dr. Neil Lachant, referred to D-dimer testing to guide anticoagulation as a "lost art."

Here are situations in which I will use it:

I will utilize it for superficial venous thrombosis (refer to the excellent algori...

I hope that my message is clear that the combination of d-dimer, factor VIII synergism is key as well as consideration regarding residual venous changes, damaged valves, lack of complete clot resolution, fibrin changes in the vein, etc. This is a complex algorithm that was very successful for me but...