The normal leg venogram: significance in suspected vein thrombosis

Does a normal leg phlebogram exclude deep venous thrombosis (DVT)? Is it safe not to anticoagulate patients with suspected DVT and a normal phlebogram? To answer these questions a retrospective study was undertaken of 71 outpatients with clinically suspected DVT and a normal phlebogram. Patients were followed for 5 months on the average; data were obtained from conversations with referring physicians and interviews with patients. Nine patients were excluded from the study because of incomplete follow-up data; four others were excluded because they were treated with coumadin "on clinical grounds". Five patients continued having symptoms subsequently attributed to arthritis, cellulitis and/or venous stasis. Fifty-three patients had no venous thromboembolic problems during the follow-up period and their symptoms subsided without therapy. We conclude that a properly performed normal leg phlebogram excludes a diagnosis of clinically significant DVT. No patient in this study developed problems because anticoagulant therapy was withheld based on a negative phlebogram.