Assessment of deep venous thrombosis in the lower limbs and pelvis: MR venography versus duplex Doppler sonography.

This study was designed to compare the diagnostic value of MR venography and color Doppler sonography in the assessment of deep venous thrombosis.MR venograms and color Doppler examinations were obtained in 37 patients either with suspected deep venous thrombosis of the lower limbs or pelvis or with pulmonary embolism. Two-dimensional time-of-flight venography was used for all studies. MR and color Doppler data were collected prospectively and analyzed in a blinded manner. In a subset of 21 patients, MR venography and color Doppler sonography were prospectively compared with contrast-enhanced venography.When compared with contrast-enhanced venography, MR venography was 100% sensitive and 100% specific in the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis above the knee. Color Doppler imaging depicted 13 of 15 cases of deep venous thrombosis and 5 of 6 venous examinations that had normal results, yielding a sensitivity and a specificity of 87% and 83%, respectively. The differences in sensitivity and specificity betw...