Introduction:
Bedside ultrasound has been shown to correlate very well with formal duplex sonography in detecting deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A limited, two-point compression technique is generally employed which verifies flow and compressibility in the common femoral and popliteal veins.
Focused Questions:
- Is there flow in the vein?
- Is the vein compressible?
Required Views:
1. Femoral vein
| Probe position |
Image |
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| Notes |
- Visualize the femoral vein and femoral artery proximally, just distal to the inguinal ligament
- Use color Doppler to check for flow in the vein (vein is usually medial to artery)
- Check that the vein compresses totally
- Often a split screen is used to show the vessels without (Left screen) and with compression (Right screen)
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| Abnormal Studies (click to enlarge) |
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2. Popliteal vein
| Probe position |
Image |
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| Notes |
- Visualize the popliteal vein and artery in the popliteal fossa
- Use color Doppler to check for flow in the vein (vein is usually superfical to artery)
- Check that the vein compresses totally
- Often a split screen is used to show the vessels without (Left screen) and with compression (Right screen)
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| Don’t miss our post on the Top 3 DVT articles. |
