Ultrasonography and Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism

Key Points

• Review the clinical utility and effectiveness of venous ultrasonography as a primary diagnostic tool for acute lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and suspected pulmonary embolism.
• Synthesized literature on venous ultrasonography performance as a standalone diagnostic examination for acute lower extremity deep vein thrombosis.
• Evaluated multimodality diagnostic strategies integrating ultrasonography with clinical probability assessments and D-dimer testing, as well as algorithms for suspected pulmonary embolism.
• Highlights venous ultrasonography as the diagnostic foundation for acute deep vein thrombosis due to the poor sensitivity and specificity of physical examination alone.
• Assesses the clinical trade-offs between standalone ultrasound protocols and integrated testing algorithms incorporating pretest probability scores and D-dimer assays.