OBJECTIVE QUANTIFICATION OF THE CONTINUOUS-WAVE VENOUS DOPPLER EXAMINATION

Objective: To develop a quantitative, objective method to diagnose dee p venous thrombosis (DVT) with the continuous-wave (CW) Doppler system . Design: Case control study. Setting: Vascular Laboratory of the Surg ical Services, Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, La Jolla, California, USA. Patients, participants: Thirty-five control subjects and the lim bs of 50 patients with suspected DVT were examined. Main outcome measu res: Phlebography, CW Doppler ultrasound. CW Doppler output was record ed from the popliteal, superficial femoral and common femoral veins. T he response to standardized calf compression was analysed. Results: Th e most useful information included the Doppler velocity increase, deca y time and deceleration. Because the determination of decay time does not require calibration of the Doppler system, it is the preferred par ameter. Conclusions: A decay time longer than 1.05 s is a very good di scriminant between normal control and DVT limbs.