Current clinical practice is often heavily biased towards the exclusion
of potentially serious, treatable diagnoses, such as deep venous thrombosis,
rather than the positive diagnosis of the patient’s underlying illness which
precipitates seeking medical attention. We report a case of leg swelling where
deep venous thrombosis was repeatedly excluded as a cause of leg pain and
swelling, but where arrival at the correct diagnosis was significantly delayed, in
part due to protocol-driven practice.
