Signal-enhanced color Doppler sonography of deep venous thrombosis in the lower limbs and pelvis

Detection of Doppler signal tends to be more difficult in peripheral veins owing to low flow velocity. This can be caused by nonoccluding thrombosis, postthrombotic wall changes, or a deep anatomic location of pelvic veins. T he last-mentioned frequently is accompanied by interference by bowel gas. i n addition, inappropriate insonation angles adversely affect the outcome of color-coded Doppler interrogation. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of signal-enhanced color Doppler sonography on peripheral veins in 31 patients clinically suspected of having deep vein th rombosis. As a result of diagnostic uncertainty, additional enhanced studie s were performed on 43 venous segments. The enhancement led to a decrease i n false-positive results (from four patients to one patient) and false-nega tive results (from four patients to two patients) compared to unenhanced st udies. Evaluation of the deeply located pelvic veins profited the most thro ugh signal enhanced Doppler sonography.