Unusual deep vein thrombosis sites: magnetic resonance venography in patients with negative compression ultrasound and symptomatic pulmonary embolism

Venous thrombosis: a mimic of musculoskeletal injury on MR imaging

Clinical signs and symptoms of venous thrombosis and musculoskeletal pathologies frequently overlap. Sometimes, patients with venous thrombosis undergo MR examinations under an equivocal suspicion of muscle, tendon or articular injury. A low pretest clinical suspicion and lack of familiarity with the conventional MR imaging signs of venous thrombosis may result in failure to diagnose venous thrombosis, delaying treatment and raising morbimortality. In MR imaging, thrombosis presents as venous ectasia with intraluminal heterogeneous content. Small vein thrombosis is often identified as having a branching aspect. Perivenous edema and inflammatory soft tissue changes may be the most prominent findings. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate MR findings of venous thrombosis in patients who underwent MR examinations due to suspected musculoskeletal pathologies. Cases of venous thrombosis in different sites of the body diagnosed through MR are presented.

Fat-suppressed magnetic resonance volume interpolated examination for deep venous thrombosis compared with duplex sonography

The aim of the present study was to evaluate magnetic resonance venography (MRV) scanned by breath-hold volume interpolated body examination with spectral fat saturation (VIBE-fs), combined with Dixon fat-suppressed VIBE (VIBE-Dixon) by using a 1.5T MR scanner for detecting deep venous thrombosis (DVT) compared with duplex sonography. A total of 31 patients with DVT were identified using duplex sonography and were enrolled in the present study for MRV examination, from the inferior vena cava to the ankle level after injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine. Venous segment-to-segment comparison was assessed for DVT detection between MRV and duplex sonography. A total of two radiologists separately performed subjective image quality assessment using a 5-point scale. Cohen's κ coefficient, Wilcoxon rank sum test and intraclass correlation coefficient values were used for statistical analysis. Of the 303 evaluated vein segments, duplex sonography identified 119 (39.3%; 119/303) venous segments with thrombus, while MRV detected 170 (56.1%; 170/303) venous segments with thrombus. The diagnostic agreement rate of DVT between duplex sonography and MRV was poor in the deep femoral vein and anterior tibial veins, while it was excellent in the inferior vena cava (IVC), common iliac vein, external iliac vein, femoral vein, popliteal vein, posterior tibial veins and peroneal veins. In addition, poor reliability was detected in the deep femoral vein, anterior tibial veins and peroneal veins, but good to excellent reliability was observed in IVC, common iliac vein, external iliac vein, femoral vein, popliteal vein and posterior tibial veins. Furthermore, image quality scores of each venous segment between the two radiologists indicated no statistical difference. Therefore, MRV scanned using VIBE-fs for the suprainguinal and VIBE-Dixon for the infrainguinal region may be a useful method for detecting DVT compared with duplex sonography. The results of present study proved this MR protocol to be a beneficial alternative imaging modality for the detection of DVT when duplex sonography is inadequate or not able to be performed.

Accurate diagnosis of iliac vein thrombosis in pregnancy with magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging (MRDTI)

A pregnant woman aged 29 years, G1P0 at 21 weeks of gestation of a dichorionic diamniotic twin, presented with suspected deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the left leg. Repeated (compression) ultrasonography was not diagnostic for DVT but showed reduced flow over the left external iliac vein, common femoral vein and superficial femoral vein. In pursue of a definite diagnosis, magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging was performed showing a clear high signal in the left common iliac vein which is diagnostic for acute thrombosis in this venous segment. Phase contrast venography supported this diagnosis, showing no flow in the left common iliac vein. Treatment with anticoagulants was started. 6 months after the diagnosis, the patient is doing well and does not report signs of post-thrombotic syndrome.

Diagnosis of uterine vein thrombosis on transvaginal ultrasound

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a potentially serious medical disorder, which may result in pulmonary embolism and death. Compression ultrasound is the investigation modality of choice for the diagnosis of DVT of the lower limb. Diagnosis of proximal thrombosis involving the pelvic veins is difficult and is usually made only after the thrombus extends into the veins of the lower limb. We present six cases of incidental uterine vein thrombosis diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound. Our aim is to describe the technique of the examination of pelvic veins and criteria that could be used to diagnose uterine vein thrombosis. We also highlight difficulties in the management of women diagnosed with asymptomatic uterine vein thrombi as there is little evidence to guide clinicians in choosing between different treatment options.