Differential Diagnosis in US Evaluation of Patients with Symptoms of DVT of the Lower Extremities

Problemstellung: Precise diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the legs is a challenging problem, not only in front of suspicion of pulmonary embolism, but also in all status of leg pain, warmth and swelling. The clinical diagnosis has a low accuracy and further investigations are mandatory in order to identify or exclude DVT. Amongst the possible investigations, ultrasound (US) has a high specificity and a good negative predictive value. Furthermore, US is easily accessible, inexpensive and non-ionizing. However, many pathologies unrelated to the veins may mimic the signs and symptoms of DVT and have to…