The Netherlands journal of medicine
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Idiopathic venous thrombosis (IVT) is associated with occult malignancy in 10% of patients. The Trousseau study investigated whether extensive screening using abdominal and chest computed tomography (CT) scans and mammography in women would decrease mortality, compared with limited screening. Here, the costs and test characteristics of these screening strategies are presented, including true- and false-positive findings, sensitivity and specificity. ⋯ Screening using CT scans and mammography results in extra costs due to the high percentage of false-positive findings for which a further diagnostic work-up is indicated.