The Clinical Diagnosis Of Deep Venous Thrombosis
Fifty-three patients were examined because of suspected deep venous thrombosis, by means of clinical examination, Doppler ultrasound and venography. Eighty-two legs were examined with all three methods. Venography was positive in 40 and normal in 42. The clinical examination was false positive in 4 legs and false negative in 6. The Doppler ultrasound studies gave false positive results in 3 legs and false negative results in 6. These results are better than those reported in the literature probably because the thrombosis extended to the popliteal vein or the more proximal veins in 38 of the 40 legs with deep vein thrombosis. This high percentage of upper leg vein thrombosis can be explained by the fact that 47 of the 53 patients were ambulant when they developed the signs and symptoms of thrombosis. It is concluded, that the clinical examination and Doppler ultrasonography can be used to diagnose deep vein thrombosis in ambulant patients in our clinic. We presume that the findings reported in the literature cannot be used indiscriminately as a basis for diagnostic strategies in other hospitals because of widely varying categories of patients, referral patterns and diagnostic criteria that are virtually impossible to standardize.