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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
The efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression in the prevention of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis
Nirvana Sadaghianloo1, Alan Dardik2
1University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France; Department of Vascular Surgery, University Hospital of Nice, Nice, France.
Abstract:
Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) has been used to prevent lower extremity deep venous thrombosis for more than 30 years and is a popular choice for prophylaxis among both physicians and patients because of its efficacy and reduced risk of bleeding compared with pharmacologic prophylaxis. However, the efficacy of IPC may depend on the clinical situation as well as on several variables associated with the devices. To determine the efficacy of IPC, recent guidelines and literature were reviewed. IPC is efficacious as a sole prophylactic agent in low- or moderate-risk surgical patients and in patients with high risk of bleeding with pharmacologic prophylaxis. In high-risk surgical and medical patients, IPC is recommended as a synergistic tool in combination with pharmacologic agents, if pharmacologic agents are not contraindicated. No specific compression modality proved its superiority, although newer portable battery-powered devices seem to allow better patient compliance and satisfaction.
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