Figure 1.
Investigation for occult malignancy in patients with idiopathic venous thromboembolism (VTE).15
All patients presented with a first episode of idiopathic venous thromboembolism. The routine assessment consisted of a history and physical, rectal examination, pelvic and breast examinations in women, plus laboratory investigations (a CBC, liver and renal function tests, serum protein electrophoresis, urinalysis) and a chest x-ray. The limited work-up involved abdominopelvic ultrasonography and testing for selected tumor markers (PSA, CEA, and CA-125). Further testing was done if the results of these tests are abnormal.
