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Updated: Jun 5, 2025
Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
Deep Vein Thrombosis as a Harbinger of Malignancy in the Emergency Department
Mehmet Cihat Demir1, Kudret Selki1
1Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkiye.
Objective:
To determine whether malignancy was discovered within one year of follow-up in patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the emergency department (ED).
Study Design:
Descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkiye, from November 2019 to November 2022.
Methodology:
All patients diagnosed with lower limb DVT on venous Doppler ultrasound were included in this study. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis or suspicion of malignancy were excluded. The study outcome was the discovery of malignancy within a year. DVT patients subsequently diagnosed with malignancy were grouped as secondary or idiopathic.
Results:
A total of 224 DVT patients without malignancy were studied. The median age of patients diagnosed with DVT was 65.5 years (47-77), of which, 51.8% were females. Malignancy was detected in 5.4% (12/224) of the patients within one year. Malignancy discovery was significantly higher in the secondary DVT group (OR = 4.52, 95% CI = 1.31-11.55; p = 0.021). Ten of 12 patients (83.3%) diagnosed with malignancy were from the genitourinary or gastrointestinal systems.
Conclusion:
In patients without known malignancy who were diagnosed with DVT in the ED, the rate of malignancy discovery in a one-year follow-up was 5.4%. EDs, where DVT is frequently diagnosed, are a hub of opportunities for early detection of malignancy. Arranging primary care follow-up of patients with DVT will contribute to better early diagnosis and survival rates, especially for genitourinary and gastrointestinal malignancies.
Key Words:
Deep vein thrombosis, Malignancy, Emergency department, Venous Doppler ultrasound.
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