Plasma D-Dimer Concentrations and Risk of Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Main Authors: Zhike Zhou, Yifan Liang, Xiaoqian Zhang, Junjie Xu, Kexin Kang, Huiling Qu, Chuansheng Zhao, Mei Zhao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-12-01
• Series: Frontiers in Neurology
• Subjects: plasma d-dimer; intracerebral hemorrhage; meta-analysis; risk factor; arteriovenous malformation
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2018.01114/full

Background: The aim of our meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between plasma d-dimer and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).Methods: Embase, Pubmed, and Web of Science were searched up to the date of March 19th, 2018, and manual searching was used to extract additional articles. Standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated to evaluate d-dimer levels.Results: Thirteen studies including 891 ICH patients and 1,573 healthy controls were included. Our results revealed that higher levels of d-dimer were displayed in ICH patients than those in healthy controls (95% CI= 0.98–2.00, p< 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on continent of Asia and Europe, sample size, as well as age in relation to d-dimer levels between ICH patients and healthy controls did not change the initial observation; whereas no differences of d-dimer levels were found between ICH and controls in America.Conclusions: This meta-analysis revealed that high level of d-dimer is associated with the risk of ICH. Plasma d-dimer is suggested to be a potential biomarker for patients with ICH in Asia and Europe rather than in America. There were no impact of sample size-related differences and age-related diversities on the risk of ICH with respect to d-dimer levels.