Lower-extremity venous thrombosis: comparison of venography, impedance plethysmography, and intravenous manometry

This study was undertaken to compare impedance plethysmography with lower-extremity venography and venous manometry in the diagnosis of acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremity. Ninety-six extremities were studied. In this population, in which the prevalence of acute DVT was 43.8%, plethysmography had a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 72.0%. The predictive value of abnormal findings at plethysmography was 70.2%, and the predictive value of normal findings at plethysmography was 87.8%. Venous manometry was performed successfully in 89 extremities. A statistically significant difference was shown in the mean intravenous pressure between patients with and without acute DVT. However, there was considerable overlap between the two populations, limiting the predictive value of impedance plethysmography in any given patient.