Journal of vascular surgery
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Comparative Study
Value of lower extremity venous duplex examination in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.
This study tests the hypothesis that the absence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) on lower extremity color-flow venous duplex examination (LECFD) combined with a non-high-probability ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scanning results rules out pulmonary embolus (PE). The use of LECFD as a diagnostic aid for PE is based on data that show that 90% of PE originate from lower extremity DVT, and therefore on the assumption that PE cannot be present if DVT is not present as the source. ⋯ If treatment of suspected PE were based on LECFD alone or on duplex combined with V/Q scanning, 40% to 50% of patients with PE would remain untreated. In cases of suspected PE where these noninvasive tests do not confirm its presence, PA should be performed.