Thermography as a screening method in the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis of the leg.

Thermography was performed before ascending phlebography in a series of 232 patients with suggested deep venous thrombosis. Thirty per cent of the patients were thermo-negative. The predictive value of a negative thermography was 88 per cent. Thermography is useful as a screening method, but it has low specificity and thus a relatively high incidence of false positives must be accepted.