Reproducibility of Duplex Ultrasound in the Measurement of Venous Reflux

Abstract

Objective:

To determine the reproducibility of duplex ultrasound in the measurement of reflux duration in lower limb veins.

Design:

Repeatability study.

Setting:

Vascular clinic in a tertiary referral centre.

Participants:

Twenty-one patients with severe venous disease.

Interventions:

Patients were scanned using duplex ultrasound by two of three observers, then rescanned by a different pair of observers after a mean interval of 51 days.

Main outcome measures:

Duration of venous reflux.

Results:

On a Wilcoxon signed rank test, observers 2 and 3 showed no significant interobserver variability. The other pairs of observers agreed at the majority of segments, but differed at the popliteal vein (p≤0.001), and superficial femoral and common femoral veins (p≤0.05). Observer 2 showed no significant intraobserver variability, but observer 1 differed at the common femoral and superficial femoral veins (p≤0.05), and observer 3 differed at the short saphenous vein (p≤0.05).

Conclusions:

Reproducibility was reasonable at certain sites, but appeared to be influenced by position of the vein.