title: Doppler ultrasonographic examination of the leg veins of patients with Parkinson disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients with Parkinson disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outpatient neurology clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-one patients with Parkinson disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Duplex ultrasonographic scans consisting of M mode images and compression images, Doppler flow assessment and augmentation of flow assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four patients had leg DVT; in 3 of the patients the thrombi were in calf veins, whereas in 1 patient the thrombosis was in the superficial femoral vein. Of the patients with DVT, 1 (1.23%) had stage 2 Parkinson disease, 1 (1.23%) had stage 2.5, and the other 2 (2.46%) had stage 4.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of DVT among patients who were more severely disabled by Parkinson disease. However, an overall incidence of DVT of 4.9% in a group of asymptomatic patients is clinically meaningful, suggesting that patients with Parkinson disease are at risk for asymptomatic leg DVT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon. burbridb@duke.usask.ca
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Burbridge
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajput
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McCulloch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology