Site of thrombosis | Typical presenting symptoms | Diagnostic imaging and caveats* |
Cerebral veins and dural venous sinuses | - New, persistent headache
- Vomiting
- Visual impairment
- Focal neurologic deficits or seizures
- Encephalopathy
| - Magnetic resonance venography
- Conventional angiography
- Brain MRI (note: CT is often normal and is thus unreliable)
|
Splanchnic veins (splenic, portal, mesenteric) | - Severe abdominal pain
- Back pain
| - CT with contrast
- Doppler ultrasound
|
DVT of the leg | - Leg pain
- Leg swelling/edema
| - Compression ultrasonography with Doppler
|
Pulmonary embolism | | - CT pulmonary angiography
- Ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan
|
Ophthalmic vein thrombosis | - Orbital pain
- Diplopia or vision loss
| - MRI
- Magnetic resonance venography
|
Ischemic stroke | - Sudden onset focal neurologic deficit
- Encephalopathy
| - Brain MRI and/or head CT
- CT or magnetic resonance angiography of the head and neck
|
Acute limb ischemia | - Pain
- Pulseless pallor
- Neurologic deficits (sensory or motor)
| - CT angiography
- Catheter-based angiography
|