Agreement between emergency physicians and radiologists for the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis with compression ultrasound: a prospective study

Introduction The time factor in diagnosis and management of a deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities (LE DVT) is of increasing importance in the era of crowding of emergency departments (ED). Current techniques used to detect LE DVT include a two-point regional compression ultrasound (rCUS), yet assessments are usually performed only during office hours. Outside office hours ultrasonography is postponed and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) prescribed. Objectives Primary outcome of the study was to assess the level of agreement in rCUS for LE DVT when performed by Dutch emergency physicians compared to rCUS by a radiologist. Secondary outcome was time to diagnosis. Method We performed a single-blind cohort study. All consecutive patients aged 18 years and older attending the ED with clinical suspicion of LE DVT were considered eligible for study enrolment. rCUS was ordered at the radiology department; subsequently, the bedside rCUS examination was also performed in the ED by the emergency physicians or ED residents. Results A total of 138 patients were included, of whom 28 patients were diagnosed with DVT by a radiologist. Emergency physicians and radiologists showed comparable agreement [absolute agreement 94% (P 
Source: European Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research