Pulmonary Embolism Without DVT in Trauma Patients

According to conventional wisdom, pulmonary embolism (PE) invariably results from deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the legs or pelvis. But we don't always find DVT in patients with PE.

To examine this incongruity more closely, Boston researchers reviewed records of 247 trauma patients who underwent combined computed tomographic pulmonary angiography and CT venography of pelvic and leg veins (the advantage of CT venography is that, unlike ultrasound, it images pelvic veins). Of 46 patients in whom PE was diagnosed, only 7 had simultaneously detected DVT.