Yao T, et al. - In patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), researchers determined if plasma D-dimer level is a determinant of short-term poor functional outcome. Participants in the study included 877 Chinese patients (median age of 64 years) with AIS admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University within 72 hours of symptom onset. The investigators found that elevated plasma D-dimer levels upon admission were significantly linked to poor outcome following admission for AIS, implying the potential role of plasma D-dimer level as a predictive marker for short-term poor outcome in AIS patients. The best discriminating factor for poor outcome was a plasma D-dimer level of ≥ 0.315 mg/L, according to receiver operating characteristic analysis. Findings suggested that plasma D-dimer level may be a convenient and cost-effective biological indicator, which could be used to improve specific stroke rehabilitation management and functional outcome.