Diagnostic Accuracy of Radionuclide Venography in the Assessment of Incompetent Perforating Veins of the Legs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of radionuclide venography (RV) (with 99mTc-marked red blood cells) in the identification of incompetent perforating veins (IPVs) of the legs in patients with chronic venous insufficiency. After informed consent, RV, followed by contrast phlebography (CP), of the symptomatic leg was performed in 14 patients (20 legs). The results of RV were compared with those of CP, which was considered the standard technique in detecting IPVs of the leg. The sensitivity of RV was 92.3%; the specificity, 93.7%; the positive predictive value, 96%; the negative predictive value, 88.2%; and the accuracy, 92.9%. The authors conclude that RV has a high diagnostic accuracy in detecting IPVs of the leg.

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