Clinical radiology
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Multicenter Study
Ultrasonography for suspected deep vein thrombosis: how useful is single-point augmentation?
To assess the role of single-point augmentation of spectral Doppler flow in the diagnosis of acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Secondary objectives included identifying the augmentation response in non-DVT diagnoses. ⋯ This study demonstrates that single-point augmentation has a low sensitivity in suspected lower-limb DVT, and that the majority of undetected DVTs are isolated to the calf veins. An abnormal augmentation response is a poor predictor of lower-limb DVT as alternative diagnoses can produce diminished or reduced augmentation. Therefore, single-point augmentation does not add to the standard compression ultrasound examination for suspected DVT and should not be routinely performed.