Thermography in deep venous thrombosis of the leg.
Thermography, a fast, simple, and sensitive method, was compared with conventional contrast medium phlebography in the diagnosis of acute deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremities in 141 patients. In 84% of the cases, the results with both techniques agreed. Thermograms showed the pathologic findings in 38 of 41 cases with deep thrombosis. In the three cases with false-negative findings, only the anterior surfaces of the legs were studied. In 19 cases, pathologic thermograms were recorded in the absence of deep thrombosis; the main reasons for findings were posttraumatic, postoperative, and postthrombotic states, and insufficiency of the perforant veins. If a patient has no previous history of a venous or other intervening disease, thermography with a negative finding excludes deep venous thrombosis. If it is used as a primary method, it can replace many phlebographies in the diagnosis of acute deep venous thrombosis.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010690:Phlebography; D013817:Thermography; D013924:Thrombophlebitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging