Diagnosis and management of deep vein thrombosis

Awareness of deep venous thrombosis has increased considerably in the last decade including recognition of the importance of thromboprophylaxis for acutely ill hospital inpatients as preventative therapy. Combinations of a pre-test probability score plus a D-Dimer analysis can identify those patients where the chances of DVT are very low and radiological investigation can be obviated. The gold standard for diagnosis is still either ascending venography or venous Doppler ultrasound. Low molecular weight heparin has taken over from unfractionated calcium heparin as the initial treatment of choice. There are many challenges in management, especially deciding the optimum duration of anticoagulant treatment in order to balance the risks of drug induced bleeding against recurrent venous thromboembolic events.