Pidala MJ, Donovan DL, Kepley RF.
A prospertive study on intermittent pneumatic compression in the prevention of deep
vein thrombosis in patients undergoing total hip or total knee replacement.
Surg Gynecol Obstet 1992 Jul;175(1):47-51

Department of Surgery, Akron City Hospital, Ohio 44309.

Three hundred and forty-six consecutive patients undergoing total hip or total
knee replacement were prospectively studied to evaluate the effectiveness of
intermittent pneumatic compression of the legs for the prevention of
postoperative deep vein thrombosis. All patients were serially studied using
impedance plethysmography and duplex ultrasound with color flow preoperatively
and on the fourth and seventh postoperative day. The incidence of postoperative
deep vein thrombosis in this series was 4 percent. Each patient with a
postoperative duplex ultrasound had positive impedance plethysmography. Of the 14
patients who had postoperative deep vein thrombosis, seven had positive test
results on postoperative day four and seven had positive tests on postoperative
day seven. No patients were symptomatic. The results suggest that the high
incidence of postoperative deep vein thrombosis after extensive orthopedic
operation is significantly lowered by the use of intermittent pneumatic
compression. Intermittent pneumatic compression, therefore, may be the preferred
approach in prophylaxis of postoperative deep vein thrombosis.