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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
Compression with a pocket-sized ultrasound device to diagnose proximal deep vein thrombosis
Sarah Pujol1, Jeremy Laurent2, Thibaut Markarian3
1Department of Anesthesiology, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, Nîmes University Hospital, place du Pr Debré, 30029 Nîmes, France.
Introduction:
Compression ultrasonography (CUS) is a validated technique for the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), but has never been studied with pocket-sized ultrasound device (PUD). The main objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of CUS made by emergency physicians (EPs) using a PUD.
Materials:
This was a prospective, diagnostic test assessment, single-center study. Patients underwent VCU performed by a trained EP with PUD (CUS-PUD) for searching proximal DVT (PDVT) and were then seen by an expert vascular physician who blindly performed a duplex venous ultrasound, which was the criterion standard. CUS-PUD's diagnostic performance was evaluated by sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV).
Results:
The sample included 57 patients of whom 56 were analyzed. Eleven (20%) PDVT were diagnosed with CUS-PUD: 7 (64%) femoral and 4 (36%) popliteal. The CUS-PUD's Se was 100% [72%; 100%], Sp 100% [92%; 100%]. The PPV was 100% [74%; 100%], and the NPV was 100% [90%; 100%].
Conclusion:
CUS-PUD performed with a pocket-sized ultrasound appears to be feasible in emergency practice for the diagnosis of proximal DVT. A study with a larger sample size will have to describe the accuracy.
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