Vascular Abstracts GLOBAL.

Key Clinical Excerpts… “Roberts et al established that devices with a greater rate of inflation produced improved flow augmentation as compared with those with a slower rate of inflation. [VenaFlow] produced the greatest increase in peak venous velocity compared with all the other devices.” – Geoff Westrich, MD “Research shows that graduated, sequential compression devices are more effective than a nonsequential device in clearing blood from the soleal, tibial and femoral veins and therefore is more effective at preventing deep venous thrombosis proximal to the calf. ” – Andrew Nicolaides, MD...

VenaFlow® Research (VenaFlow Systems Used in these Studies) Combined intermittent pneumatic leg compression and pharmacological prophylaxis for prevention of venous thromboembolism in high-risk patients (Review) Kakkos SK, Caprini JA, Geroulakos G, et al:Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, Issue 4. Art. NO.:CD005258, 2008 Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs) of combined intermittent pneumatic leg compression (IPC) and pharmacological interventions used to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in high-risk patients were reviewed. Several articles that utilized...

Fondaparinux combined with intermittent pneumatic compression vs. intermittent pneumatic compression alone for prevention of venous thromboembolism after abdominal surgery: a randomized, double-blind comparison (APOLLO) Turpie AGG, Bauer KA, Caprini JA, et al:Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 5:1854-1861, 2007 In this randomized, double-blind (RCT) comparison study, 1309 patients who were undergoing major abdominal surgery, including surgery for cancer, received either fondaparinux or placebo. All patients received intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC). The rate of venous thromboembolism...

Efficacy of Pneumatic Compression Stocking Prophylaxis in the Prevention of Deep Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism Following 139 Lumbar Laminectomies with Instrumented Fusions Epstein NE:J Spinal Disord Tech 19(1):28-31, 2006 Patients undergoing multilevel lumbar laminectomies with instrumented fusions are at high risk for DVT and PE. These same patients cannot afford any hemorrhagic events or the associated risk of neurological deterioration from bleeding. In this study, 139 patients with multilevel lumbar laminectomies with instrumental fusions received pneumatic compression stockings...

Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Stocking Prophylaxis Against Deep Venous Thrombosis in Anterior Cervical Spinal Surgery; A Prospective Efficacy Study in 200 Patients and Literature Review Epstein NE: SPINE 30 (22): 2538-2543, 2005 In two hundred cervical spine surgeries, a single modality of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) was used to avoid deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Because of the high risk (2-4%) of major bleeding in the neurosurgical patient, no anticoagulants were prescribed. All patients were Dopplered. If DVT was documented, patients underwent...

Two mechanical devices for prophylaxis of thromboembolism after total knee arthroplasy; a prospective, randomised study Lachiewicz PF, Kelley SS, Haden LR: J Bone Joint Surg (BR) 86-B(8):1137-1141, 2004 The ideal operating parameters of IPC devices for the prevention of DVT following total knee arthroplasty have not been proven. This prospective, randomized study compared an asymmetrical calf compression device providing rapid impulse inflation (Device V) to a circumferential calf compression device (Device S) using gradual inflation. The hypotheses maintained that the device providing the greater...

Improved venous return by elliptical, sequential and seamless air-cell compression Labropoulos N, Oh DS, Golts E, et al: International Angiology 22(3): 317–321, 2003 VenaFlow’s rapid-filling, sequential inflation cycle and seamless, overlapping, elliptical designed cuffs are essential for producing peak velocities that are superior to other sequential devices. In this study, the author compared the Kendall Thigh SCD and VenAssist (ArtAssist) hemodynamics to the VenaFlow (calf) System. ”Two hemodynamic parameters were measured, acceleration time from spontaneous baseline venous flow and peak vein...

The Role of Nitric Oxide in Vasodilation in Upstream Muscle during Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Chen LE, Liu K, Qi WN, et al: Journal of Applied Physiology 92(2):559–566, 2002 This study examined the effects of intermittent pneumatic compression on uncompressed upstream muscles. Subjects were divided into two groups. Group 1 examined what effect L-NMMA (a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) had on the IPC-induced vasodilation of the uncompressed cremaster muscle. Group 2 examined the effects of IPC application on the expression of eNOS mRNA and eNOS protein of the cremaster muscle. IPC on...

Evaluation of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Devices Whitelaw GP, Oladipo OJ, Shah BP, et al: Orthopedics 24(3): 257–261, 2001 Six different pneumatic compression devices (VenaFlow calf, Jobst calf, Jobst thigh, Kendall thigh, Venodyne calf, and PlexiPulse foot) were compared for their effect on venous blood flow and the results were compared to that of active and passive dorsiflexion. Doppler measures were taken proximal to the greater saphenous vein-femoral vein junction. The Aircast® VenaFlow produced venous velocity rates most similar to those of active or passive dorsiflexion. The venous...

Venous Hemodynamic Characteristics of Pneumatic Compression Devices Proctor MC, Zajkowski PJ, Wakefield TW, et al:The Journal of Vascular Technology 25(3): 141-145, 2001 This observational hemodynamic study was conducted using fifteen (healthy) volunteers and nine pumps. According to the author(s): “VenaFlow demonstrated the greatest increase over baseline in all variables.” Doppler illustration on the paper shows the same evidence. [Note: The scale on the Dopplers and total size of the Doppler illustration for each product varies. The box/ scale for VenaFlow is approximately 25% larger than...