Proven: D-dimer point of care test has advantages over lab testing

In a study¹ by the Carolinas Medical Centre, North Carolina, USA, Inverness Medical’s Clearview Simplify^® D-dimer rapid test has been shown to be as effective in diagnosing pulmonary embolism as quantitative laboratory testing. The research, presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress in Sorrento details how the qualitative Simplify test not only “demonstrated similar diagnostic accuracy” as laboratory tests, but is far more versatile for rapid point of care use in emergency departments.

Clearview Simplify D-Dimer is used to detect D-dimer in human plasma and whole blood from venous whole blood and finger-prick samples to aid the assessment of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. When used in conjunction with a validated pre-test probability score and diagnostic algorithm, Simplify D-Dimer can also be used for the safe exclusion of venous thromboembolism.

The main advantage of Simplify D-Dimer over traditional laboratory testing, as observed by the research team at the Carolinas Medical Centre, is that it can be “performed and interpreted rapidly at the patient’s bedside, without the need of a machine”. In this way the Simplify D-Dimer test can be used to overcome delays associated with sample transfer to the laboratory or when laboratory resources are unavailable.

In just two simple steps, the easy to use cartridges from Inverness Medical provide reliable results in as little as 10 minutes. Such a rapid response enables clinicians to make fast decisions for effective patient management, especially within the emergency environment. With in-built procedural control and the availability of separate positive and negative controls health professionals can have added confidence in reading the visual result with minimal training required.

Reference 1) Michael S. Runyon, Daren M. Beam, Matthew C. King, Edward H. Lipford, and Jeffrey A. Kline. Comparison of the Simplify^® D-dimer performed at the bedside to a laboratory-based quantitative D-dimer assay for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in a low prevalence emergency department population. Emergency Medical Journal.