Natural History of Isolated Deep Vein Thrombosis of the Calf

NCT00816920 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 500

Last updated 2021-03-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Whether isolated distal DVT (IDDVT), DVT confined to the calf, should be looked for and diagnosed to allow them to be treated with anticoagulants remains one of the still unsolved issues in vascular medicine, especially because of the insufficient data on clinical risks of untreated distal DVT. Management studies have shown that it is safe to withhold anticoagulation in outpatients with suspected DVT if compression ultrasonography (CUS) limited to the proximal deep veins yields normal results on presentation and on repeated examination after 5 to 7 days. This strategy is based on the premise that IDDVT do not need to be diagnosed and treated, what is necessary when they extend involving the proximal veins. There is no general agreement, however, on the assumption that the non-extending IDDVT do not need to be diagnosed and treated, and many authors recommend to perform a single CUS examination extended to the distal deep veins. All the available studies have treated with anticoagulants the diagnosed IDDVT and no adequate information is available on the risk of IDDVT left untreated.

The present study, performed in outpatients with suspected leg DVT, aims at assessing the clinical consequences of IDDVT diagnosed (by a complete US investigation) but not treated because the results of this investigation remain blind to both the patient and the treating doctor, whereas the diagnostic-therapeutic procedure remains the usual one, based on CUS investigation limited to diagnose proximal DVT, to be repeated after 5-7 days (or earlier) to exclude an extension to proximal veins of an IDDVT potentially present.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Ultrasound examination of leg veins

Outpatients symptomatic for leg DVT follow the standard diagnostic procedure (ultrasound examination of proximal deep veins, pre-test clinical probability and D-dimer, and a second US after 5-7 days) to exclude proximal DVT; they also receive by another doctor a complete US examination of the deep leg veins to assess the presence of isolated calf DVT, the results of the latter examination are kept blind to the patient and to the treating doctor, and disclosed after three months

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Gualtiero Palareti, MD · Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2005-09-30
Primary Completion
2009-09-30
Completion
2009-09-30

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00816920 on ClinicalTrials.gov