Is the wearing of elastic stockings for half a day as effective as wearing them for the entire day?

Publicat in 26.05.2010. Sursa: venosan.com

From: Br J Dermatol. 2010 Jan;162(1):42-5. Epub 2009 Jul 6.
Belczak CE, de Godoy JM, Ramos RN, de Oliveira MA, Belczak SQ, Caffaro RA.
Santa Casa School of Medical Sciences, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Background: There is good evidence for the use of compression for some clinical indications but little is known about dosimetry in compression.

Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate whether or not the use of compression stockings during part of the day would help in the reduction of evening oedema in patients with clinical, epidemiological, anatomical and physiopathological (CEAP) classifications C0 and C1.

Methods: The effects of elastic compression stockings on volumetric variations during the working day were evaluated for the legs of two men and 18 women (40 legs). The inclusion criterion was classification as C0 (10 legs) or C1 (30 legs) according to the CEAP criteria. Participants used three-quarter-length elastic compression stockings (20-30 mmHg) on three consecutive days for the entire day or only for the morning or they did not use the stockings at all. Volumetry using the water displacement technique was performed in the morning and in the evening. When the patients wore the stockings only during the morning, volumetry was also performed at 13:00 h.

Results: Significant increases in volume were observed for both legs when stockings were not used compared with the use of stockings in the morning only. After removing the stockings, both legs had significant increases in volume in the afternoon. However, use for half the day was better than not using the stockings at all.