Can D-Dimer Detects Snake Venom Induced Blood Clotting?

D-Dimer testing, a blood test that monitors blood-clotting, may aid to diagnose venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC), the most common effect of snakebite in Australia, according to research published by the Medical Journal of Australia. Data was analyzed for suspected and confirmed cases by the Australian Snakebite Project, 2005–2019, from 200 hospitals across Australia.

The study included 1,363 patients for whom D-dimer was quantitatively assessed within 24 hours of suspected or confirmed snakebite.

Diagnostic performance of D-Dimer Test

D-dimer values increased to 2.5 mg/L in three hours of the bite among 95% of patients who developed VICC, and were lower than 2.5 mg/L for 95% of non-envenomed patients up to six hours after snakebite.

Diagnostic performance enhanced during the first three hours after snakebite; for quantitative D-dimer testing at two to six hours.

One of 84 patients who developed VICC-related acute kidney injury, D-dimer values exceeded 4 mg/L within 24 hours of the bite.

The study concluded that D-dimer concentrations estimated two to six hours after snakebite, with a cut-off value of 2.5 mg/L, could serve as a vital diagnostic tool for detecting VICC.

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Source-Medindia