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Thromb Haemost 2002; 87(04): 593-598
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1613054
Review Article
Schattauer GmbH

Comparison of Venography and Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Asymptomatic Deep Vein Thrombosis in the Upper Body in Children

Results of the PARKAA Study
Christoph Male
1   The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
,
Peter Chait
1   The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
,
Jeffrey S. Ginsberg
2   McMaster University, Hamilton
,
Kim Hanna
3   Bayer Inc., Toronto
,
Maureen Andrew
1   The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
,
Jacqueline Halton
4   Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa
,
Ron Anderson
5   Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary
,
Patricia McCusker
6   Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, London
,
John Wu
7   British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
,
Thomas Abshire
8   Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
,
Irene Cherrick
9   University Hospital, Syracuse
,
Donald Mahoney
10   Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, USA
,
Lesley Mitchell
1   The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 08 July 2001

Accepted after resubmission 14 December 2001

Publication Date:
08 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in children occurs primarily in the upper body venous system. This prospective diagnostic study compared bilateral venography and ultrasound for detection of DVT in the upper venous system in 66 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Results were interpreted by central blinded adjudication.

Deep venous thrombosis occurred in 29% (19/66) patients. While 15/19 DVT were detected by venography (sensitivity 79%), only 7/19 were detected by ultrasound (sensitivity 37%). The 12 DVT detected by venography but not by ultrasound were located in the subclavian vein or more central veins. Three of 4 DVT detected by ultrasound but not by venography were in the jugular vein. We conclude that ultrasound is insensitive for DVT in the central upper venous system but may be more sensitive than venography in the jugular veins. A combination of both venography and ultrasound is required for screening for DVT in the upper venous system.

Keywords

Deep vein thrombosis - upper body venous system - ultrasound - venography - diagnosis - children
 

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