Ultrasound as a screening tool for early diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis in hospitalized patients

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower limbs is a serious vascular disease where accurate diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent embolization and other complications. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), an ultrasound examination performed at the bedside, has been increasingly used due to its diagnostic accuracy comparable to other radiological exams in the diagnosis of DVT. OBJECTIVE: To assess the application of POCUS in hospitalized patients for the diagnosis of DVT, observing its sensitivity and specificity. METHODOLOGY: Narrative review in the PubMed database, considering eligible articles in English, from 2018 to 2024, with information about POCUS with two and three-point compression, with data that allows analyzing if it is a method with good sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: Five eligible articles were selected for consideration in this review if they reported the use of POCUS in the diagnosis of DVT. The sensitivity of POCUS in detecting DVT ranged from 82.8% to 100%, and the specificity ranged from 90% to 98.8%. The positive predictive value ranged from 61.5% to 83%, while the negative predictive value ranged from 97% to 100%. CONCLUSION: It is evident that POCUS presents excellent effectiveness in addition to being low cost and easy to perform. The time from examination to DVT diagnosis is shorter compared to other methods, favoring the anticipation of antithrombotic therapy and improving morbidity and mortality.