Diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis of Upper Extremity by Ultrasonography

DVT of the upper extremity (DVT-UE) is far less common than DVT of the lower extremity. It occurs in only 4 to 10% of all DVTs. There are several important risk factors associated with upper extremity DVT. Studies have shown more than half of the patients with DVT-UE have a CVC or a cardiac pacemaker in the affected area of the circulation.6, 7 In this case report, Patient A, demonstrated that DVT-UE can occur spontaneously with no known risk factors, while Patient B had a CVC in placed in his right chest which is consistent with known risk factor for upper extremity DVT. The study has shown that compression ultrasonography and color Doppler ultrasound is a fast, reliable and accurate procedure to detect upper extremity DVT.