Thermography in suspected deep venous thrombosis of lower leg.

Phlebography has proved to be the most reliable method to diagnose a deep venous thrombosis of a lower leg. In this study it is attempted to evaluate the accuracy of thermography in diagnosing a deep venous thrombosis. The series comprises 125 patients which were investigated with thermography and phlebography. A diagnostic agreement was 79% and false negative rate 15.9%. It was concluded that thermography is only a screening method and by using it about 40% of phlebographies are avoided.