The nurse notes a patient's leg is swollen, red, warm, and tender. Suspecting a deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), the nurse anticipates the physician will order which lab test?
Explanation
• D-dimer is a fibrin degradation product. These products increase during a thrombotic event.
• An elevated D-dimer is indicative of a DVT, but an ultrasound is needed to confirm the presence of a DVT.