Diagnosis of Deep Venous Thrombosis after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Comparison of Ultrasound and Venography Studies

The incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT)after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Western countries has consistently been high, ranging from 50 % to 80%, and routine prophylaxis is considered a standard of patient care.(1-7) The incidence of DVT in Asian populations, however, was believed to be rare, and routine prophylaxis is not used in most hospitals.(8-12) One of the reasons for the low inci-dence of DVT was attributed to the methodology used in the diagnosis of DVT in those studies.(13-21) When venography was used to detect DVT, several recent studies demonstrated that the incidence of DVT in the Asians was similar to that of Western countries.(22,23) However, the rate of proximal DV