One of the potential consequences of a stroke in immobilized patient is a subsequent clot in the legs, or a deep vein thrombosis, putting an already suffering patient into mortal danger. One prophylactic therapy option that Covidien has been working on perfecting is intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) of the legs. The company has been putting its Kendall SCD sequential compression system through trials, and the latest results from a multi-center randomized controlled trial on immobile stroke patients have shown that the system reduced the chance of deep vein thrombosis by 30% and led to a 14% reduction in mortality cases.
As the Kendall SCD delivers sequential, gradient, circumferential compression therapy, it detects the vascular refill time within the legs and adjusts the compressions accordingly.
From the study abstract in The Lancet:
Findings
Between Dec 8, 2008, and Sept 6, 2012, 2876 patients were enrolled in 94 centres in the UK. The included patients were broadly representative of immobile stroke patients admitted to hospital and had a median age of 76 years (IQR 67—84). The primary outcome occurred in 122 (8·5%) of 1438 patients allocated IPC and 174 (12·1%) of 1438 patients allocated no IPC; an absolute reduction in risk of 3·6% (95% CI 1·4—5·8). Excluding the 323 patients who died before any primary outcome and 41 without any screening CDU, the adjusted OR for the comparison of 122 of 1267 patients vs 174 of 1245 patients was 0·65 (95% CI 0·51—0·84; p=0·001). Deaths in the treatment period occurred in 156 (11%) patients allocated IPC and 189 (13%) patients allocated no IPC died within the 30 days of treatment period (p=0·057); skin breaks on the legs were reported in 44 (3%) patients allocated IPC and in 20 (1%) patients allocated no IPC (p=0·002); falls with injury were reported in 33 (2%) patients in the IPC group and in 24 (2%) patients in the no-IPC group (p=0·221).
Interpretation
IPC is an effective method of reducing the risk of DVT and possibly improving survival in a wide variety of patients who are immobile after stroke.
Study in The Lancet: Effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression in reduction of risk of deep vein thrombosis in patients who have had a stroke (CLOTS 3)
Product page: Kendall SCD…
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