A 42-year-old former semi-professional football player came to the emergency department with the chief complaint of right leg pain. The patient had been playing soccer 10 days prior to this visit, and recalled a traumatic "tackle" injury to the posterior area of his right lower extremity. He denied experiencing any sensation of tearing or popping in the right knee during the index trauma, and was able to complete the game with only minor discomfort. On day 3 post-injury the patient noted severe pain in his knee and calf with ambulation.
The patient visited his primary doctor on post-injury day 8 and was diagnosed with a right lower extremity soft tissue injury. A right lower extremity echo-doppler ultrasound (US), and a semi-quantitative D-dimer automated latex procedure were ordered to rule out a vascular disorder. The US investigation demonstrated a DVT in the distal femoral,…
