Deep Thrombophlebitis of the Lower Limbs

DEEP thrombophlebitis of the lower limbs is diagnosed clinically. Phlebograms are difficult to interpret and of little practical value. Deaths from pulmonary embolism and the disability of the post-phlebitic syndrome emphasize the importance of early correct diagnosis. This paper presents the clinical findings on which was based a diagnosis of thrombophlebitis in twenty patients, records their response to treatment, and discusses the diagnosis of this disease. The patients were unselected, other than being admitted to the Peripheral Vascular Service of the Graduate Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, over the six-month period from 1st November, 1962, to 30th April, 1963. Sixteen patients were women and four men. Patients did not predominate in any one age group, the youngest being sixteen years and the eldest being seventy-seven years.