Background/Purpose: No early serum marker of accurate diagnosis of lupus mesenteric vasculitis (LMV) contributes to the treatment decision-making process. The study was undertaken to evaluate clinical significance of serum D-dimer level as an early diagnosis marker of LMV patients.

Methods: Thirty-eight systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients who presented with acute and subacute abdominal pain were retrospectively analyzed and classified into LMV group (n=15) and Non-LMV group (n=23) between January 2006 and January 2016. The patients were evaluated by serum D-dimer level on the first day after admission, abdominal CT, other laboratory-testing parameters, as well as SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) during the same period.

Results: No significance difference of the SLEDAI, autoantibodies and laboratory profiles at admission was detected between two groups. The D-dimer value on the first day of admission was significantly higher in patients with LMV than those with other causes (P<0.05, P=0.04). In addition, serum D-dimer level was also significantly higher in patients with long-term (≥7d) gut resting and high-dose steroid therapy (P<0.01, P=0.003). All LMV patients showed good response to high-dose intravenous steroids and there was no patient required immunosuppressive and surgical therapy.

Conclusion: D-dimer level could be an effective and early serum marker indicating the clinical evolution of LMV. D-dimer may also assist the treatment determination and prognostic evaluation.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/d-dimer-as-an-early-marker-in-patients-with-lupus-mesenteric-vasculitis/