Image_1_Elevated plasma D-dimer levels are associated with the poor prognosis of critically ill children.JPEG

BackgroundD-dimer has been shown as a valuable predictor for the prognosis of sepsis. But the prognostic association of an elevated D-dimer with adverse outcomes of all critical illnesses in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) has received far less emphasis.MethodsThis was a single-center retrospective study, including 7,648 critical patients aged between 28 days and 18 years from the pediatric intensive care (PIC) database from 2010 to 2018. The primary outcome was the in-hospital mortality rate.ResultsHigher levels of D-dimer, INR, PT, APTT, and lower Fib were observed in the non-survivor group (all P ConclusionsWe found poorer coagulation function in the non-survivors compared with the survivors. Among the coagulation indicators, D-dimer was most strongly associated with in-hospital mortality of unselected critically ill children.