My husband was awaken at 2am this morning w/ a very sharp pain in his right foot above the left side ankle.It was so painful we went to urgent care and there they tested him for Gout.His cbc was normal as well as an uric acid test. X-ray, also normal. Now they want us to go to the E.R. for a doppler. He has no insurance and this is already $700.Any thoughts? The pain also radiates up in his calf.

They want to get a doppler ultrasound of the calf to make sure he does not have a blood clot [dvt] which if it went to the lungs could kill him.


Some clinics can do this in house or arrange it at a radiology site, which might be quicker qnd cheaper than going through the whole ER process. You can always negotiate - ask to pay what medicare or medicaid reimburses for the procedure - it does not hurt to ask. Often times the uninsured get charged the highest rate compared with insurance, medicare or medicaid reimbursement.

A Sept 2003 New England Journal of Medicine article demonstrated that a simple, and probably cheaper, blood test - D Dimer - is sensitive enough [ that is, low false negatives ] such that under the right conditions, a negative d dimer would rule out the need for an ultrasound.


I hope this is not the case and that your husband simply has a muscle cramp.