<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>
<bold>Background:</bold> Duplication of the femoral vein is an important anatomical variation of the venous anatomy which has been shown to have an impact on the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis by compression ultrasonography. The presence of duplication may result in false negative findings while evaluating for deep venous thrombosis, with serious consequences such as pulmonary embolism and death. This metaanalysis aims to determine the pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins. <bold>Methods:</bold> A systematic search was conducted through the major databases PubMed, Hinari, Embase and Medline to identify studies eligible for inclusion. Appropriate data were extracted and pooled into a random-effects metaanalysis using MetaXL software. The primary and secondary outcomes of the study included the pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins and the prevalence of bilaterally duplicated femoral veins, respectively. <bold>Results:</bold> A total of 11 studies (<italic>n</italic> = 3,682 limbs) were included. The overall pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins was 19.7% (95% CI 11–30). There was a significant difference in prevalence between cadaveric studies (2%, 95% CI 1–4) and imaging studies (25%, 95% CI 17–34). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Duplication of the femoral vein is a common variation in the lower limbs. Routine watch-out should be practiced especially when performing lower limb Doppler studies in cases of deep venous thrombosis in order to avoid misdiagnosis and improve diagnostic accuracy.</p>
</abstract>

Background: Duplication of the femoral vein is an important anatomical variation of the venous anatomy which has been shown to have an impact on the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis by compression ultrasonography. The presence of duplication may result in false negative findings while evaluating for deep venous thrombosis, with serious consequences such as pulmonary embolism and death. This metaanalysis aims to determine the pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins. Methods: A systematic search was conducted through the major databases PubMed, Hinari, Embase and Medline to identify studies eligible for inclusion. Appropriate data were extracted and pooled into a random-effects metaanalysis using MetaXL software. The primary and secondary outcomes of the study included the pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins and the prevalence of bilaterally duplicated femoral veins, respectively. Results: A total of 11 studies (n = 3,682 limbs) were included. The overall pooled prevalence of duplicated femoral veins was 19.7% (95% CI 11–30). There was a significant difference in prevalence between cadaveric studies (2%, 95% CI 1–4) and imaging studies (25%, 95% CI 17–34). Conclusion: Duplication of the femoral vein is a common variation in the lower limbs. Routine watch-out should be practiced especially when performing lower limb Doppler studies in cases of deep venous thrombosis in order to avoid misdiagnosis and improve diagnostic accuracy.

Prevalence of femoral vein duplication: systematic review and metaanalysis

Journal of Ultrasonography

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Prevalence of femoral vein duplication: systematic review and metaanalysis"}

Background: Duplication of the femoral vein is an important anatomical variation of the venous anatomy which has been shown to have an impact on the diagnosis...

Author	Country	Region	Study type	Sample size	Duplicated femoral veins
Bastarrika, 2007^(l7)	Spain	Europe	Imaging (MDCT)	32	1
Casella, 20l0^(l8)	Brazil	South America	Imaging (duplex)	314	173
Dona, 2000⁽³⁾	Australia	Australia	Imaging (duplex)	248	37
Gordon, l996^(l9)	U.K.	Europe	Imaging (duplex)	116	29
Paraskevas, 20ll⁽²⁰⁾	Australia	Australia	Imaging (Sonography)	480	200
Park, 20ll^(2l)	Korea	Asia	Imaging (MDCT)	890	214
Quinlan, 2003⁽²²⁾	Denmark, U.K.	Europe	Imaging (venography)	808	253
Redondo, 2009⁽²³⁾	Spain	Europe	Imaging (MDCT)	51	1
Screaton,l998⁽²⁾	England	Europe	Imaging (venography)	381	149
Uhl, 20l0⁽²⁴⁾	France	Europe	Cadaveric	336	7
Ferreira, 20l5⁽²⁵⁾	Colombia	South America	Cadaveric	26	1

Subgroup	Number of studies (number of limbs)	Pooled prevalence (LCI-HCI)	I²
Overall	11 (3682)	19.7% (11-30%)	98%
Imaging studies	9 (3320)	25% (17-34%)	96%
Cadaveric studies	2 (362)	2% (1-4%)	0%
South America	2 (340)	26.3% (0-91%)	97%
Asia	1 (890)	24% (21-27%)	N/A
Australia	2 (728)	27% (3-57%)	98%
Europe	6 (1724)	14% (2-30%)	98%

1.	(anatomy) OR (prevalence)
2.	(((double) OR (bifid)) OR (duplicated)) OR (duplication)
3.	((femoral vein) OR (sub-sartorial vein)) OR (superficial femoral vein)
4.	1 AND 2 AND 3

Prevalence of femoral vein duplication: systematic review and metaanalysis

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Dec 15, 2021

Page range: 326 - 331

Received: May 12, 2021

Accepted: Jul 21, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2021.0054

Keywords
femoral vein duplication, deep venous thrombosis, ultrasound

© 2021 Polish Ultrasound Society. Published by Medical Communications Sp. z o.o.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Summary of the characteristics of included studies

Table showing a summary of subgroup analysis by region and study type

Search strategy for PubMed

Prevalence of femoral vein duplication: systematic review and metaanalysis

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Dec 15, 2021

Page range: 326 - 331

Received: May 12, 2021

Accepted: Jul 21, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2021.0054

Keywordsfemoral vein duplication, deep venous thrombosis, ultrasound

© 2021 Polish Ultrasound Society. Published by Medical Communications Sp. z o.o.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Summary of the characteristics of included studies

Table showing a summary of subgroup analysis by region and study type

Search strategy for PubMed

Keywords
femoral vein duplication, deep venous thrombosis, ultrasound