D-Dimer Level with Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST) Occurrence Using Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA)

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a cerebrovascular disease in the form of occlusion due to thrombus in the venous and cerebral sinuses. It rarely occurs and has varied clinical symptoms and radiological features and challenging to diagnose. D-dimer used as a diagnostic marker for cases of venous thromboembolism, with a sensitivity of around 90–92%. However, the specificity is not too high (70–73%) because it can also increase in other conditions. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is a gold standard examination to establish the diagnosis of CVST. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the D-dimer level and CVST using DSA at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Bandung. This study used an observational analytic method with a case-control study design using retrospective data from medical records at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in January 2017–August 2019. The research subjects divided into two groups, namely the high D-dimer levels and the normal/low D-dimer level. Forty people meet the inclusion criteria, ages averaging from 44.77±14.40 years, and consists of 9 male patients (22%) and 31 women patients (78%). For normal/low D-dimer levels 20 patients (50%) and high D-dimer levels 20 patients (50%). Statistical test results measuring D-dimer and CVST levels found a significant relationship (p<0.05). In conclusion, there is a relationship between D-dimer levels with CVST events that have been done by DSA. The higher the D-dimer level, the higher the suspicion of CVST.