Although simpler and more readily available, the 2-point ultrasound strategy requires follow-up study in nearly one third of patients.
Two-point ultrasound for the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) involves evaluation of the common femoral and popliteal veins. This strategy requires that patients with normal ultrasound results and elevated D-dimer results undergo follow-up study within 1 week to detect calf DVT that would have been missed by the initial 2-point ultrasound. Newer color-coded Doppler ultrasound allows evaluation of the small and large vessels of the entire leg. Researchers compared the two strategies in a prospective, randomized study of 2098 consecutive symptomatic patients who presented to 14 centers with first episodes of suspected DVT from 2003 through 2006. Patients with normal results were followed for 3 months.
The prevalence of DVT on the init…