Deep venous thrombosis: detection by high-resolution real-time ultrasonography

High-resolution real-time ultrasonography was performed in 11 patients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremity. Contrast venography was performed in all patients within 24 hours of sonographic examination. The common femoral vein at the groin and the popliteal vein in the popliteal fossa were evaluated for presence or absence of intraluminal soft-tissue mass (thrombi), compressibility of the veins, and response to performance of the Valsalva maneuver. Of the 11 patients, six were shown to have DVT by contrast venography. In all six cases there was complete agreement between sonography and contrast venography as to the presence or absence of thrombi in the common femoral vein or the popliteal vein.     

Deep venous thrombosis of the leg: US findings

In a prospective study, 121 consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis of the leg were examined with real-time ultrasonography. The findings were correlated with the results of venography. The common femoral vein and the popliteal vein were evaluated for intraluminal echoes and compressibility, and the common femoral vein was also evaluated for an increase in diameter in response to the Valsalva maneuver. The superficial femoral vein and the calf veins were not evaluated. The results indicate that compressibility of the common femoral and popliteal veins is the best indication of deep venous thrombosis, with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 97%. The accuracy of detection was not improved by including data from thrombus visualization or the response of the common femoral vein to the Valsalva maneuver.     

Distribution of thrombi in acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis: implications for sonography and CT and MR venography

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the typical distribution of thrombi in acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis as a means of evaluating the validity of imaging techniques that only include the common femoral and popliteal veins, but not the superficial femoral vein. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The results of 2704 lower extremity venous sonograms, obtained in 2026 consecutive patients over a 4-year interval, were reviewed retrospectively. The distribution of acute deep venous thromboses across various lower extremity venous segments was analyzed for this population, which consisted of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. RESULTS: Of 2704 lower extremities studied with duplex sonography, acute deep venous thrombosis was identified in 269 (9.9%). Of these 269 cases, acute deep venous thrombosis was isolated to the superficial femoral vein in 60 (22.3%). The remaining 209 cases (77.7%) showed thrombus that extended into the common femoral or popliteal veins (or both). CONClUSION: An abbreviated imaging study that evaluates only the common femoral and popliteal veins would fail to identify more than 20% of lower extremity acute deep venous thromboses in a population like ours. Although evaluation of the superficial femoral vein requires additional time and resources, evaluation of this segment may prevent a substantial number of thrombi from being missed.     

Diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis of the legs: accuracy of ultrasonography using vein compression

We prospectively compared real-time US findings with venographic results in the legs of 171 consecutive outpatients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT). In each leg the common femoral and the popliteal veins were evaluated with venography and US. The two examinations were independently performed and reviewed. Vein compressibility (VC), intraluminal echogenicity and response to Valsalva maneuver were evaluated with US. Venography detected DVT in 54/171 legs. 10/54 legs had isolated distal DVT. With VC, US was 100% specific, 87% sensitive and 96% accurate. 6/7 false negative US studies were due to isolated distal DVT; therefore US sensitivity for proximal DVT was 98%. The other two US diagnostic criteria were much less accurate than VC. VC-US is an accurate, cheap and reproducible test for the detection of DVT in symptomatic outpatients.     

Iliofemoral venous thrombosis: real-time ultrasound diagnosis, normal criteria, and clinical application

We determined the response of the common femoral vein to respiratory maneuvers using high resolution real-time ultrasound in 10 normal subjects, and we evaluated this modality in the diagnosis of iliofemoral venous thrombosis in 36 patients. We developed diagnostic criteria for assessment of the venous system and have confirmed them with phlebography or pathologic findings. An increase in venous diameter of 50-200% on performance of the Valsalva maneuver, with a prompt return to the original configuration, was always associated with a normal iliofemoral venous system. Two patterns of occlusion of the femoral venous system were found: an enlarged circular femoral vein that did not increase in size on deep inspiration or performance of the Valsalva maneuver, and difficulty or inability to detect the common femoral vein. A dampened response, i.e., a 10-50% diameter increase on performance of the Valsalva maneuver, was associated with deep vein thrombosis in four of six patients. The false positive rate of 8% was due to gross congestive cardiac failure in one patient. This technique is simple to perform, relatively inexpensive, expeditious, and has proved useful in confirming or denying the presence of iliofemoral venous thrombosis.     

彩色多普勒超声诊断下肢静脉疾病的临床价值——与DSA比较研究

目的 探讨彩色多普勒超声在下肢静脉疾病中的应用价值,并与DSA比较.方法 成用彩色多普勒超声仪对48例临床疑有下肢静脉疾病患者行二维彩色多普勒血流成像、脉冲多普勒及Valsalva试验等检查,并与DSA检查比较.结果 48例患者中有下肢深静脉血栓形成27例,其中15例合并下肢深静脉瓣膜功能不全,8例合并下肢浅静脉曲张,2例两者俱存,另有1例左侧腘窝囊肿合并腘静脉血栓,部分病例提示髂静脉流速减慢.单纯下肢静脉瓣膜功能不全5例,单纯下肢浅静脉曲张6例,6例两者俱存.4例超声检查正常,其中2例DSA提示有髂静脉受压.以DSA为诊断标准,诊断符合率为95.8%,两种方法行一致性检验,Kappa值为0.65.结论 彩色多普勒超声对下肢静脉疾病的临床诊断及疗效判断有重要的应用价值.     

Thrombosis at venous insertion sites after inferior vena caval filter placement

Color Doppler flow imaging or compression ultrasound (US) was used to prospectively determine frequency of thrombosis at 54 venous insertion sites (47 in common femoral veins, seven in right internal jugular veins) after percutaneous placement of Greenfield filters for interruption of the inferior vena cava. Fifty-one filters were successfully placed in 51 patients with a dilator set or a balloon angioplasty catheter. Nine focal thrombi were detected in the common femoral vein (19%) and one in the right internal jugular vein (14%). Use of dilators induced eight thrombi (24%), compared with two (10%) from balloon catheters. The left common femoral vein had a high frequency of thrombosis, regardless of dilation technique (five of nine). Of nine patients with acute common femoral vein thrombosis, four became symptomatic within 10 days after the procedure. Patients may remain asymptomatic or have delayed symptoms; thus, US is valuable for determining patients at risk of thrombosis of the common femoral vein.     

Deep venous thrombosis evaluation with limited-flip-angle, gradient- refocused MR imaging: preliminary experience

Sixteen patients (17 lower extremities) were prospectively examined with venography and limited-flip-angle, gradient-refocused magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the presence or absence of deep venous thrombosis. Thrombosed vessels showed decreased-to-absent signal intensity, while patent vessels had high signal intensity. In 16 of 17 extremities, MR images allowed accurate detection and localization of the thrombi found with venography. In the remaining extremity, MR imaging allowed correct identification of thrombus in the iliac and femoral veins but incorrectly demonstrated clot in the calf and popliteal veins. MR imaging with limited-flip-angle, gradient-refocused pulse sequences appears to be a sensitive, noninvasive means of detecting deep venous thrombosis.     

Deep venous thrombosis in pregnancy: noninvasive diagnosis

In pregnant patients, venous thrombosis usually affects the left-side iliofemoral deep vein. Vascular ultrasound (US) offers distinct advantages in confirming the clinical suspicion of disease or suggesting the need for further tests. The authors encountered three consecutive cases of antepartum proximal vein thrombosis during a 6-month period (0.6 case per 1,000 deliveries). Lack of venous flow accentuation and lack of diameter change at the common femoral vein during the Valsalva maneuver are indications for iliac venography and suggest the diagnosis of iliac vein thrombosis. In distal iliac and proximal femoral vein thrombosis, noncompressibility of the vein and the presence of echogenic material within are indicative of acute thrombus.     

Isolated calf venous thrombosis: diagnosis with compression US

Compression ultrasound (US) is an excellent means of evaluating the femoral and popliteal veins but is generally regarded as inadequate for the diagnosis of calf vein thrombosis. This prospective study evaluated compression sonography of the calf veins in 45 symptomatic patients with normal femoral and popliteal veins. All patients underwent correlative venography. Compression US enabled identification of 15 of 17 patients with calf vein thrombosis (sensitivity, 88%). The two false-negative results were in patients with small isolated thrombi. Compression US results were true-negative in 26 of 27 patients with normal venograms (specificity, 96%). If these results can be duplicated by other investigators in larger series of patients, compression US will be an adequate screening modality for calf vein thrombosis.     

The use of deep inspiration preceding the valsalva maneuver and rapid expiration in color doppler imaging of the lower extremity veins

Deep inspiration preceding Valsalva maneuver and rapid expiration immediately following it (DIVE) enhance venous blood flow on color Doppler flow imaging (CDI). The effect of DIVE was assessed in 115 consecutive lower extremity examinations. Of these, 95 or 115 (83%) had negative CDI sonograms, and 20 of 115 (17%) had partially (six of 115) or completely (14 of 115) occluding deep vein thrombosis. DIVE enhanced venous blood flow in 68% of the negative cases, resulting in transient venous distention, and/or more complete color filling, and/or greater spectral flow velocities. The 14 cases with completely occluding thrombi showed no response to DIVE. Six cases with partially occluding thrombi showed moderate to mild response to DIVE, with improved color delineation of the residual patent lumen around the thrombus. The authors conclude that DIVE facilitates deep venous CDI, especially when compression cannot be used to augment venous flow.     

Color Doppler ultrasound imaging of lower-extremity venous disease

A color Doppler ultrasound imaging device was used to evaluate 475 patients with suspected lower-extremity venous thrombosis. Occlusive and nonocclusive femoral and popliteal thrombi were detected in 200 studies (42%). In phase 1 of the study (240 examinations), peripheral augmentation with the use of periodic calf compression was required to show color flow throughout the femoropopliteal venous segment. In phase 2 (235 examinations), with a software upgrade to enhance detectability of slow flow, spontaneous flow could be appreciated in the normal, partly thrombosed, and recanalized femoral popliteal veins without augmentation. Augmentation was often necessary to view tibioperoneal veins. Of the total study group, conventional venography was performed for correlation in 47 patients. In the other patients, clinicians relied on the color Doppler test for the definitive diagnosis of the presence or absence of femoral popliteal venous thrombosis and treated these patients on the basis of the color Doppler test result. In the femoral veins, color Doppler studies and venography agreed in all 12 positive and 35 negative cases. In the popliteal veins, there was agreement in five isolated popliteal thromboses and in 10 femoral popliteal thromboses; there were two false-negative color Doppler studies of isolated popliteal thromboses. In four patients, Doppler studies detected nonocclusive thrombus not evident on venography. Color Doppler imaging is easy to perform and does not require augmentation to view color flow in the femoropopliteal venous segment. Eccentric thrombus and partially canalized thrombus can be shown. Initial experience suggests color Doppler imaging may be useful in the detection of tibioperoneal venous thrombosis.     

Optimal management strategy for use of compression US for deep venous thrombosis in symptomatic patients: a cost-effectiveness analysis

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors' purpose was to identify the optimal strategy for using compression ultrasonography (US) in patients suspected of having deep venous thrombosis (DVT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors developed a decision-analytic model representing the natural history of DVT and the benefits and risks of anticoagulation therapy. They evaluated six initial imaging strategies: (a) unilateral examination of the common femoral and popliteal veins; (b) unilateral examination of the common femoral, popliteal, and femoral veins; (c) bilateral examination of the common femoral and popliteal veins; (d) bilateral examination of the common femoral, popliteal, and femoral veins; (e) complete unilateral examination of the symptomatic leg (including calf veins); and (f) complete bilateral examination of both legs. RESULTS: For 65-year-old men with unilateral symptoms of DVT, the most effective strategy was bilateral examination of the common femoral and popliteal veins with anticoagulation therapy in patients with proximal DVT and follow-up bilateral examination of the common femoral and popliteal veins in patients without an initial diagnosis of DVT with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $39,000 per quality-adjusted life year gained. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that bilateral examination limited to the common femoral and popliteal veins, with follow-up bilateral examination limited to the common femoral and popliteal veins, was as cost-effective as other well-accepted medical interventions. The results were sensitive to the distribution of clot, diagnostic accuracy of compression US, and probability of bleeding with long-term morbidity.     

Chronic-stage deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities: indirect CT venographic findings

OBJECTIVE: To describe the computed tomographic (CT) findings of chronic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its evolution from acute DVT. METHODS: Fifty-one consecutive patients with 52 legs confirmed as acute DVT by CT venography underwent follow-up computed tomography more than 2 months later. Follow-up CT findings were assessed retrospectively by consensus between 2 radiologists. The frequencies of CT findings were analyzed for affected venous segments: common iliac, external iliac, femoral, popliteal, and calf veins. RESULTS: Twelve legs (23%) were completely normalized on follow-up computed tomography, but 40 legs (77%) showed abnormal findings as follows: luminal obliteration (n = 16), decreased caliber (n = 30), residual thrombi (n = 3), fibrotic bands (n = 28), ipsilateral muscle enlargement (n = 28), ipsilateral subcutaneous edema (n = 11), and superficial collateral vein development (n = 23). The external iliac vein (26/40, 65%) was the most commonly affected site followed in decreasing order by femoral (29/50, 58%), common iliac (9/18, 50%), popliteal (22/47, 47%), and calf veins (9/43, 21%). Trends were observed whereby luminal obliteration affected iliac veins and fibrotic bands affected femoropopliteal veins. CONCLUSIONS: Luminal obliteration, decreased caliber, fibrotic bands, ipsilateral muscle enlargement, and superficial collateral vein development are common CT findings in chronic DVT of the lower extremity.     

下肢静脉MRA的评价

目的：探讨MRA在诊断下肢深静脉狭窄和血栓形成的应用价值。材料和方法：25例临床诊断为下肢深静脉血栓形成患者，进行2DTOF法MRA检查，其中3例同时行动态增强MRA（DCEMRA）。检查范围包括下腔静脉下段至小腿静脉。25例中的18例同时行彩超检查。结果：25例MRA共显示静脉以上（包括静脉）深静脉225条，其中正常静脉76条，血栓形成32条，轻度狭窄（1－49％）50条，明显狭窄（50－99％）45条，闭塞（10％）22条。18例MRA与彩超对照可比静脉162条，彩超示正常静脉53条，异常静脉109条，二者显示一致152条，符合率为93．82％（152／162）。结论：MRA对显示下腔静脉狭窄和血栓形成的部位、范围和程序准确性较高，为临床正确诊断和治疗后随访提供了新的无损伤检查手段。     

320排CT血管造影和超声诊断下肢深静脉血栓价值比较

目的：探讨320排容积 CT 静脉造影(CTV)和超声(US)对下肢深静脉血栓(DVT)的诊断价值。方法回顾性分析经DSA 证实为下肢 DVT 的患者51例,对比直接法 CTV 及 US 对下肢不同部位栓子的检出率。结果51例患者中,CTV 共诊断DVT 48例,发现栓子124处,US 诊断静脉血栓46例,发现栓子86处。其中盆腔 DVT CTV 检出34处,US 检出10处,胫腓静脉血栓 CTV 检出25处,US 检出5处,CTV 检出股深静脉血栓2处,US 检出11处。结论直接法 CTV 及 US 对下肢 DVT 的诊断均具有较高的临床应用价值,而前者对盆腔 DVT 及胫腓静脉血栓的检出率更高,而对股深静脉血栓的显示不及后者。     

Clinical utility of real-time compression ultrasonography for diagnostic management of patients with recurrent venous thrombosis.

In the diagnostic management of patients with clinically suspected recurrent deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), there are potential limitations to all available diagnostic techniques. Since venous abnormalities may persist for some time after an acute thrombosis, the usefulness of compression ultrasonography (US) for the detection of recurrent DVT may be jeopardized. We determined the rate of normalization of an abnormal compression US test of the popliteal and the common femoral veins in patients after a first episode of proximal DVT. In a cohort of 60 consecutive patients, the test result was normalized in only 29, 44, 54, and 60% of patients at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively. The investigation shows that for the detection of recurrent DVT of the leg, real-time compression US (using the single criterion of compression of the common femoral and popliteal vein) is of limited value. Future studies need to be performed, using more subtle interpretation of the compression US result, by quantifying the extent of residual thrombus, which may increase the usefulness of this test in patients with recurrent symptoms.     

Floating thrombi: diagnosis and follow-up by duplex ultrasound.

The clinical features and evolution of floating thrombi (FT) diagnosed by duplex ultrasound were examined. In 76 consecutively diagnosed above-knee deep venous thromboses the prevalence of FT was 18%. Of 44 FT diagnosed in 39 patients, 18 (39%) were located in the common femoral, 12 (26%) in the popliteal and seven (15%) in the external iliac veins. Serial duplex examinations revealed that 31% of FT in the iliofemoral segment disappeared 33% remained unchanged and 36% adhered to the vein wall within 2 weeks following diagnosis. After 3 months, 87% of the floating segments had disappeared, irrespective of the localization or therapeutic regimen. Thirteen patients experienced pulmonary embolism before (12/13) or following (4/13) diagnosis of floating thrombosis; three of four superficial femoral vein FT embolized. Fifteen per cent of the patients with FT died during the study period and 28% of the thrombi were associated with a malignant neoplasm; the incidence of malignancy was 60% in superficial and 39% in common femoral vein FT.     

多层螺旋CT血管成像与DSA对照诊断下肢静脉阻塞性病变

目的探讨多层螺旋CT血管成像(multi-slice CT angiography,MSCTA)在下肢静脉阻塞性病变中的应用价值。方法对32例临床疑有下肢静脉阻塞性病变患者行16层螺旋CT血管成像及血管三维重建,并进行DSA检查,结合临床资料分析CTA技术及其在下肢静脉阻塞性病变中的应用价值。结果32例疑诊下肢静脉阻塞性病变患者,MSCTA诊断髂静脉受压综合征19例,其中左侧髂总静脉受压16例,右侧髂总静脉或其分支受压3例。下肢深静脉血栓形成9例,其中左下肢2例,右下肢5例,双下肢2例。左侧腹股沟区囊肿压迫左侧髂外静脉1例。单纯左下肢浅静脉曲张1例。以上30例CT诊断结果均与DSA结果相符合。MSCTA诊断右侧股腘静脉扩张1例,未见异常1例,该2例DSA均提示下肢深静脉瓣膜功能不全。结论MSCTA对下肢静脉阻塞性病变的诊断有较高的临床应用价值。     

顺行插管综合介入治疗下肢深静脉慢性血栓形成

目的 评价顺行性插管对下肢深静脉慢性血栓形成（LEDVT）的综合介入治疗的临床应用价值。方法 40例髂和（或）股静脉长段，全段或多节段血栓形成的患者。均经健侧股静脉穿刺先置入下腔静脉滤器，然后经患侧Guo静脉穿刺插管。综合运用血管内溶栓，血栓抽吸，血栓消融器消融。球囊成形术及腔内支架置入术治疗。结果 经皮Guo静脉穿刺插管成功率87.5%(35/40)。失败的5例改手术切开暴露Guo静脉再穿刺插管成功。综合介入治疗后总有效率100%。其中治愈率42.5%（17/40），显效率47.5%(19/40)，好转率10.0%(4/40)。无严重并发症发生。结论 经皮Guo静脉顺行性穿刺插管途径和结合多项介入技术综合运用治疗慢性LEDVT是安全有效的方法。