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Modern medicine knows many different diagnostic methods which, although they give quite good results when it comes to detecting various diseases and ailments, for some reasons are less and less used, and sometimes even discouraged. One such method is undoubtedly the study of the Homans symptom. What is the Homans symptom? What ailments does it indicate and why is it being forgotten more and more today?
What is the Homans symptom?
The Homans symptom is a specific soreness that occurs with the knee straightened in the area of the popliteal fossa and the calf when the foot is dorsally flexed.
This phenomenon was first described in 1934 by John Homans in the “New England Journal of Medicine” and it was from him that the name of this symptom was derived. For many years, the Homans symptom was one of the main methods of detecting deep vein thrombosis, but nowadays this type of examination is less and less frequent, among others due to its low sensitivity and the risk of clot detachment, which may lead to further consequences. Such a clot can start to circulate in the bloodstream and can even lead to a pulmonary embolism. Therefore, although many doctors previously recommended their patients to self-test the Homans symptom at home, today most specialists advise against checking this type, recommending rather safer diagnostic methods.
How to investigate the Homans symptom?
Studying the Homans symptom is extremely simple. First of all, they are performed when the patient has a straight leg in the knee. To examine the Homans symptom, the physician must gently lift the patient’s straightened leg upwards and then bend the foot in the dorsal direction, into the shin. Absence of pain may indicate that there are no problems with thrombosis, while the characteristic pain is the Homans symptom, which indicates that the patient may be suffering from thrombosis of the femoral vein or thrombosis of the lower limb. However, it is not a 30% determinant. The Homans symptom was found in about XNUMX percent. patients with diagnosed deep vein thrombosis in the lower leg.
What are the causes of the Homans symptom?
Homans’ symptom of specific pain comes from the fact that deep veins with thrombosis become painful when they are tightened.
If not Homans symptom, then what?
As already mentioned, the use of the Homans symptom is becoming less and less common in today’s medicine. Specialists prefer to rely on other diagnostic methods. First of all, it is recommended to test blood in the form of morphology, concentration of D-dimers and determination of the glomerular filtration rate of the kidneys. Often, the doctor also orders some imaging tests. Most often, ultrasound is performed for this purpose, and less often computed tomography.
What is deep vein thrombosis?
When discussing the Homans symptom, it is worth explaining what deep vein thrombosis is. It is a disease that especially affects adults over 45, obese and sedentary people. One type of venous thrombosis is deep vein thrombosis and may be asymptomatic or have limb edema, characteristic aches and pains especially when walking, discoloration of the skin, or even low-grade fever or fever.
What are the causes of deep vein thrombosis?
Deep vein thrombosis can have many causes. One of them is obesity and longer immobilization of the lower limb, which may be caused by various factors. Deep vein thrombosis is also caused by various diseases, especially heart failure, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and deep vein varicose veins.
Pregnant women and people who lead a less active, sedentary lifestyle are also more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis. In some cases, deep vein thrombosis is caused by medical procedures.
Treatment of the Homans symptom
It is worth remembering that the Homans symptom is only a symptom that may indicate diseases or ailments. Thus, the symptom of Homans itself cannot be treated, but indicates a disease that must be treated. Treatment of deep vein thrombosis depends on many different factors. First of all, it depends on the location of the clot and the stage of the disease.
Usually, anticoagulants are also used in treatment, which mainly concerns conservative therapy. The most commonly used are oral anticoagulants and heparins. The use of this type of measures is aimed at stopping the growth of blood clots, as well as reducing the risk of pulmonary embolism.
Treatment of this ailment can be very time-consuming in more severe cases and may take up to 9 months. During and after therapy, patients are recommended to wear compression stockings, among other things.
Surgical removal of clots is rarely used, primarily because this procedure can cause new clots, but in special cases it can be performed with such surgery.
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