[Non-medicamentous prevention of thromboembolic disease]

Virchow's work has showed that thrombogenic situations may have a hematological, either congenital or acquired, parietal or hemodynamic nature. Primary and secondary non-medicamentous prevention of thromboembolism is aimed at screening the patients at risk, avoiding or reducing the alterations of the venous walls, and, most importantly, improving failing or altered venous hemodynamics. The authors review the various clinical and biological situations entailing an increased thrombogenic risk. They sum up the various methods of prevention of venous stasis: Nard's method, associating bandages and deambulation, as well as various techniques of contention, hemodilution, compression with inflatable boots, electric stimulation or assisted mobilization. These methods are used as ambulatory or bedside treatments and in the intra- and perioperative periods, as the case may be. The few studies relating to non-medicamentous methods of prevention of thromboembolism demonstrate their great effectiveness, which is equal to that of the modern heparin treatments. The prevention of thromboembolism is best carried out by associating the latest chemical therapies to non-medicamentous physical methods, which are still of current interest.