Prevalence of lower extremity venous duplication

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was performed to determine the prevalence of lower extremity venous duplication using duplex ultrasound in the patient population of a large urban medical center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The reports of all lower extremity venous ultrasound examinations performed at our institution between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2002 were reviewed. Ultrasound examinations that were performed for purposes other than the detection of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis were excluded. The prevalence of duplication and its specific location were recorded. In addition, the prevalence of thrombus and its specific location were also recorded. RESULTS: A total of 3118 exams were performed in 2664 patients. Of the 2664 patients, 2311 had only one examination performed during the study period; 353 patients had more than one examination performed. We found that 10.1% of patients (270/2664) had at least one venous segment duplicated and 5.4% of patients (143/2664) had a thrombus in at least one venous segment. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of both duplication and thrombus with a change in venous segment. Only 0.4% of patients (11/2664) had thrombus within a duplicated segment. Of those who had more than one examination performed, 15.3% (54/353) had the same venous segment(s) seen on one examination but not another. CONCLUSION: Lower extremity venous duplication is a frequent anatomic variant that is seen in 10.1% of patients, but it may not be as common as is generally believed. It can result in a false negative result for deep vein thrombosis.