How is DVT diagnosed? How to find blood clots in legs? 12

How is DVT diagnosed? How to find blood clots in legs? When CT or MRI becomes better than ultrasound to look for blood clots in veins? Leading CT and MRI radiologist with special interest in vascular imaging discusses best methods to diagnose blood clots in legs. Deep venous thrombosis.

How is DVT diagnosed? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. How to find blood clots in legs? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. How is pulmonary embolism diagnosed? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Ultrasound is the first test to diagnose deep vein thrombosis. Dr. Kent Yucel, MD. CT  scan with intravenous contrast is used to diagnose pulmonary embolism (PE). Video interview with leading expert in radiology, CT and MRI specialist. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) tests and diagnosis are first ultrasound of legs. DVT ultrasound false negative because small clots below the knee could be missed. To establish Pulmonary Embolism diagnosis it is necessary to do a spiral CT scan with well-times IV dye injection. Medical Second Opinion when blood clots in legs (DVT) are found ensures that diagnosis is correct and complete. Medical Second Opinion also helps to choose the best treatment strategy for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Seek medical Second Opinion on deep vein thrombosis and be confident that your treatment is the best. How to find blood clots in legs. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Embolism or pulmonary artery can be fatal in up to 30% thirty percent of patients. Dr. Kent Yucel, MD. Yes.  And the most frequent cause is Deep Venous Thrombosis. DVT is the presence of blood clots in the deep veins of legs. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. You have published a number of important papers on imaging studies of peripheral blood vessels, including papers on multimodality assessment of leg veins. What is the approach a person with suspected or known problem with blood clots in leg veins, DVT Deep Vein Thrombosis, can take to evaluate the situation and make sure that the event of pulmonary artery embolism is prevented? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Dr. Kent Yucel, MD. Patient with DVT is going to present in one of two ways: they can either present with leg symptoms due to clots in the legs, or they can present with lung symptoms: shortness of breath or coughing up blood, due to clot from the legs having already gone to the lungs. That is a different approach depending on how they present. People who present with leg vein symptoms, get ultrasound right now of the legs. Ultrasound is the test of choice for leg veins. Dr. Kent Yucel, MD. CT  or MRI can be helpful but they are not as good as ultrasound at finding small clots that can lead to bigger problems later on. So ultrasound of legs is the way to go. The only exception to that is is patients who may have pelvic disease or pelvic surgery, who may develop blood clots not in the legs but in their pelvic veins because ultrasound can’t see the pelvic veins well. So sometimes ultrasound can show a hint that maybe something wrong with the pelvis, or the patient may have a known condition in the pelvis, like a tumor or surgery that will lead the doctor to worry about that. In those patients (with blood clots in pelvic veins) CT or MRI is preferable to ultrasound. Those are very special groups. For leg clots ultrasound is the way to go. For diagnosing clots that have gone to the lungs and causing lung symptoms, CT is the diagnostic test of choice, for a variety of reasons. MRI of the pulmonary arteries is not sufficiently good to evaluate for pulmonary embolism. And ultrasound cannot see through the lung air. So CT is the test of choice for pulmonary embolism evaluation. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. And examples of pelvic disease, for example, if someone had surgery for uterine cancer or other tumors in the abdominal pelvic area, this would be the types of diseases that could give rise potentially to clots in the pelvic vascular system. Dr. Kent Yucel, MD. Exactly. And ultrasound of the legs can often show indirect signs that there is a blockage in the pelvic veins. But it may not be able to help what’s causing the problem. So just blood from surgery or a tumor or a clot in pelvic veins can cause blockages and ultrasound cannot tell them apart, but that is where CT and MRI are most helpful. How is DVT diagnosed? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. How to find blood clots in legs? Video interview with leading expert in radiology, CT and MRI specialist. Role of ultrasound, CT in DVT.