[Phlebography with MR in the study of deep venous thrombosis]

MR phlebography was recently proposed as a possible alternative to contrast venography in the detection of deep venous thrombosis. We focused our work on the study of the pelvic veins since it is at this level that contrast venography and the other noninvasive techniques, i.e., phlebography, impedance plethysmography and US, exhibit their major limitations. Thirty patients underwent MR phlebography: 13 of them had a diagnosis of DVT of the pelvic venous district and the other 17 had negative results for this condition. All the patients were also examined with color-Doppler US at the pelvis and legs. In all the patients submitted to MR phlebography, thrombosis site and presence were demonstrated, with diagnostic information also on its extent and adhesion to vein wall. To conclude, MR phlebography can provide contrast venography-like images in a noninvasive way, with high accuracy (100% sensitivity and 90% specificity) especially in the pelvic district where the limitations of other techniques are more apparent. Larger series of patients must be studied to assess the actual role of MR phlebography in the patients with DVT or at high risk for this condition.