The normal leg venogram: significance in suspected vein thrombosis.
Does a normal leg phlebogram exclude deep venous thrombosis (DVT)? Is it safe not to anticoagulate patients with suspected DVT and a normal phlebogram? To answer these questions a retrospective study was undertaken of 71 outpatients with clinically suspected DVT and a normal phlebogram. Patients were followed for 5 months on the average; data were obtained from conversations with referring physicians and interviews with patients. Nine patients were excluded from the study because of incomplete follow-up data; four others were excluded because they were treated with coumadin "on clinical grounds". Five patients continued having symptoms subsequently attributed to arthritis, cellulitis and/or venous stasis. Fifty-three patients had no venous thromboembolic problems during the follow-up period and their symptoms subsided without therapy. We conclude that a properly performed normal leg phlebogram excludes a diagnosis of clinically significant DVT. No patient in this study developed problems because anticoagulant therapy was withheld based on a negative phlebogram.
D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D010690:Phlebography; D013924:Thrombophlebitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
D000925:Anticoagulants