It was asked in a Linkedin forum “How important are calf veins when looking for DVT”?
More people die as a result of deep vein thrombosis and its complications than from breast cancer, AIDS and all motor vehicles combined. Blood clots that form in the legs start 98% of the time in the calf. Knowing these two facts how is it that large portion of the medical community still thinks that calf vein thrombus is benign? Studies in which imaging of the calf veins show a progression rate of 28-32%. Studies that don’t image the calf veins show a progression rate of 6%. Obviously one of these methods is not correct. The morbidity rate from complications of DVT has not decreased in the last 30 years! Maybe we need to pay more attention to the calf veins?
Categories: diseases, emergency medicine, health, medical imaging, phlebology, vein disease