Deep venous thrombosis: detection by probe compression of veins.

The sonographic detection of echogenic, soft-tissue mass within the veins of the lower extremities assures the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). However, the sonographic diagnosis remains inconclusive when fresh thrombus and/or artifacts are present within the lumen of the vein. The present study attempts to augment the clinical utility of real-time sonography in the detection of DVT, based on the premise that total obliteration of the vein lumen by probe compression should not be possible in the presence of venous thrombi. Sonography and contrast venography of the lower extremity were performed in 20 patients with clinical suspicion of DVT. The presence of thrombi was confirmed in 14 patients. Probe compression failed to obliterate the lumen of the veins containing thrombi. The authors conclude that the technique of probe compression is useful for rapid and noninvasive detection of venous thrombi.