Abstract
Introduction Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious coagulation disorder that includes deep
vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism and is an important cause of hospitalization
and death. This study aimed to evaluate the compliance of the emergency doctor and
radiologist in diagnosing DVT in the emergency department using the two-point compression
ultrasonography (USG) method.
Patients and Methods This prospective cross-sectional study was performed between February and July 2022
in the Emergency Medicine Clinic of a tertiary university hospital with patients who
were thought to have DVT and had lower extremity venous USG indication. Demographic
information of patients, clinical markers used in the Wells score, and USG results
of the emergency doctors and radiologists were recorded in the study form.
Results A total of 400 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the study patients
was 59.8 ± 18.0 years, and 54.4% (n = 217) of the patients were male. There was a significant difference in the incidence
of DVT between those with a Wells score of 2 or less and those above 2 (n = 67, 21.8% vs. n = 41, 47.1%; p < 0.001). Regarding interobserver agreement in the evaluation of DVT by emergency
medicine doctor and radiologist, kappa values were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI]:
0.71–0.91) for the right femoral vein, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.81–0.97) for the left femoral
vein. It was found to be 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76–0.86) for all lower extremity vein USGs.
Conclusions There is a very good level of agreement between the emergency department and the
radiologist in diagnosing DVT with USG.
Keywords
deep vein thrombosis - emergency medicine doctor - radiologist - two-point compression
ultrasound
