Key result
In patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation, hypokalemia was associated with a 1.64-fold increased relative risk of having a positive D-dimer value compared to normokalemia.
Why the study?
Does hypokalemia correlate with higher D-dimer levels in patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation?
Observational (n=271)
No
Does hypokalemia correlate with higher D-dimer levels in patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
In patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation, lower serum potassium levels are significantly associated with higher D-dimer levels, suggesting a potential link between hypokalemia and increased thromboembolic risk.
BACKGROUND: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. OBJECTIVE: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between D-dimer and serum potassium in acute-onset AF (AAF). METHODS: To investigate the potential correlation between the values of serum potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data of all emergency department visits for AAF in 2013. RESULTS: Among 271 consecutive AAF patients with D-dimer assessments, those with hypokalemia (n = 98) had significantly higher D-dimer values than normokalemic patients (139 versus 114 ng/mL, p = 0.004). The rate of patients with D-dimer values exceeding the diagnostic cut-off was higher in the group of patients with hypokalemia than in those with normal serum potassium (26.5% versus 16.2%; p = 0.029). An inverse and highly significant correlation was found between serum potassium and D-dimer (r = -0.21; p < 0.001), even after adjustments for age and sex (beta coefficient -94.8; p = 0.001). The relative risk for a positive D-dimer value attributed to hypokalemia was 1.64 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.63; p = 0.040). The correlation remained statistically significant in patients free from antihypertensive drugs (r = -0.25; p = 0.018), but not in those taking angiotensin-receptor blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or diuretics. CONCLUSIONS: The inverse correlation between values of potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF provides important and complementary information about the thromboembolic risk of these patients.
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Cervellin et al. (2014) conducted an observational in Acute-onset atrial fibrillation (n=271). Hypokalemia (serum potassium < 4.0 mmol/L) vs. Normokalemia (serum potassium ≥ 4.0 mmol/L) was evaluated on Positive D-dimer value (>243 ng/mL) (RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.63, p=0.040). In patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation, hypokalemia was associated with a 1.64-fold increased relative risk of having a positive D-dimer value compared to normokalemia.
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