High resolution real-time ultrasound for the diagnosis of venous thrombosis in the rehabilitation setting.

Accurate, noninvasive testing for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by conventional methods is often not possible in the rehabilitation patient. Lower extremity amputation, a cast or bandage, or skin problems present obstacles to standard diagnostic methods. This report describes the use of duplex ultrasound (US) scanning for noninvasive diagnosis of DVT in a seventy-year-old man with a below-knee amputation, on whom Doppler and plethysmography examinations could not be performed. As experience is gained with this technique, the use of venography for diagnosis of DVT becomes more difficult to rationalize.