The frequent occurrence of false-positive results in phleborheography during pregnancy.

In this study, none of 25 pregnant women without any past history of venous thromboembolic disease had a positive phleborheogram sometime during their pregnancy or within six weeks post partum. In contrast, zero of ten nonpregnant women, also screened for venous thrombophlebitis, had a positive test finding during the same time interval. No clinical parameters, including weight gain, leg circumference, leg swelling, development of varicose veins, leg pain or use of support stockings, correlated with the occurrence of a positive test result. While there is conflicting evidence from other studies, our data suggest the need for caution in interpreting a positive phleboroheogram as an accurate indicator of thrombophlebitis in pregnant women.