However, diagnosing DVT early is crucial because it has a tendency to break loose and travel up the venous system to the lungs, where it can lodge and often times block off the pulmonary artery. While extremely accurate, the procedure is not without its side effects, some of which occasionally can be serious. We as physicians needed a chance to compare the many options against each other. We have drugs that can prevent them from forming in the first place. The immobilization can cause blood to pool in the legs, which can increase the possibility of clot formation.
Symptoms can include sudden swelling, chronic pain and redness.
It is estimated that several million patients a year develop DVT, and close to 200,000 will result in a PE, which carries a 30 percent mortality rate if left untreated and a still high 5 to 6 percent mortality rate when treated, according to Tapson. As a result, physicians are eager to know which non-invasive methods of finding clots are the most reliable. And since the latest imaging techniques are usually found at large teaching hospitals, it's not surprising that hospitals vary widely in their diagnostic capabilities. This is a new technique and its effectiveness has not be tested in a large clinical trial. However, we at Duke have a superlative radiology department, so we're very confident in its ability to detect clots.