Thread by @CapOrbit

A thread on possible clotting risks, elevated D-Dimer and Long Covid.
Disclaimer - this is not medical advice. In health matters speak to a doc. You do have a right to ask your doc though on things you read about, it is your health after all
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D-dimer Wiki
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-dimer

In addition, it is used in the diagnosis of the blood disorder disseminated intravascular coagulation.[1] A four-fold increase in the protein is a strong predictor of mortality in those suffering from COVID-19.
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D-dimer test is prescribed nowadays in acute phase to be sure that there is no clotting risk. I do not hear of it as much for most patients post-Covid (after few months).
I have heard of at least a few cases of sudden strokes/pulmonary embolism events 2-3 mths after recovery
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Some research paper data excerpts:

1. Prolonged elevation of D-dimer levels in convalescent COVID‐19 patients is independent of the acute phase response
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Participants were assessed at a median of 80.5 (range 44–155) days after initial diagnosis.
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For reference values, in lab reports I have seen <0.6 microgram/ml as the reference level for normal. Here in chart, it is in nanogram/ml (divide it by 1000). They have marked an upper boundary at 0.5 microgram/ml.
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See number of observations above the normal level even after 2-3 months.

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One more:

‘Long-COVID’: a cross-sectional study of persisting symptoms, biomarker and imaging abnormalities following hospitalisation for COVID-19
thorax.bmj.com/content/76/4/3…
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Chart from supplemental material link given inside the paper
thorax.bmj.com/content/thorax…
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Similarly see - a fraction of the people have elevated levels after even 2 months.
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Those who have had Covid may want to show this to your docs.

Wish everyone good health.
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