Deep venous thrombosis.

We thank Dr Reynolds for carefully reading and commenting on our article, and indeed must agree that the maximum score on the Oudega rule is 13 points (as a patient cannot be both male and taking oral contraceptives). We do stress, however, that from a GP’s point of view, the most valuable use of the Oudega rule is to exclude deep venous thrombosis (DVT). For that purpose, a threshold at three points or fewer (please note, this automatically includes a negative D-dimer test) is safe for excluding DVT in primary care. Using a point-of-care D-dimer test, it is even possible to safely exclude DVT during the consultation of the patient. Hence, with the use of the Oudega rule and a point-of-care D-dimer test, DVT management has now definitely entered the realm of primary care.