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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
Proximal deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolus following total joint arthroplasty
Javad Parvizi1, Raviinder Parmar2, Ibrahim J Raphael2
1Orthopaedic Surgery at the Rothman Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Abstract:
It has been proposed that prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) will lead to a reduction in pulmonary embolism (PE). This retrospective comparative study examines the association between symptomatic proximal DVT (occurring at or proximal to the popliteal fossa) and PE in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients. We evaluated 1031 patients with DVT symptoms and 428 with PE symptoms. A total of 227 patients were evaluated for both. No statistically significant association found between developing PE and DVT within 90 days after TJA (P=0.94). Our findings raise into question the mechanical propagation theory. Formation of DVT and PE may be independent events in patients undergoing TJA. Evaluating the efficacy of thromboprophylaxis using DVT as end point may not reflect its efficacy for prevention of PE.
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