OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is deep venous thrombosis (DVT). While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how a DVT will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a traditional question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a disease is quite valuable.
QUESTION EXAMPLES
Question # 1
A 55 year old male come stop he clinic with a 4 day history of left leg swelling and pain. He denies having any chest pain or shortness of breath. He also has not had any weight loss or abdominal pain. The patient has a 35 pack year history but denies drinking any alcohol. His temperature is 98.5°F, blood pressure is 140/80 mm Hg, pulse is 75/min, and respirations are 15/min. A physical exam reveals swelling and tenderness in the left leg up to the mid-thigh. The rest of the physical exam is unremarkable. A CBC and coagulation studies are both non-contributory. Duplex ultrasonography of the lower extremities demonstrates an incompressible popliteal and femoral vein in the left leg. A chest X-ray is read as within normal limits. What is the likely diagnosis in this patient?
Explanation: swollen leg + non-compressive veins = DVT
Page Updated: 02.22.2017