Diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis. A review of radiologic, radionuclide, and non-imaging methods.

Accurate diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) can be achieved through appropriate use of the various imaging and non-imaging techniques currently available in clinical practice. This paper summarizes the roles of imaging techniques such as duplex ultrasound, contrast and radionuclide venography, and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as clinical prediction models and D-dimer testing, in the evaluation of patients with suspected DVT. Recent data examining the prognostic value of several of these tests, alone and in combination, are also reviewed. The associations of testing for DVT and pulmonary embolism, and the controversies which sometimes surround them, are also briefly examined.