Implementation of intermittent pneumatic compression in stroke patients

Abstract Introduction There is a higher risk of embolic complications in immobile stroke patients. Venous thromboembolism is a serious condition in which small clots form in the deep veins of the legs, called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and these clots are carried through the blood circulation to the lungs, leading to pulmonary embolism. Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) has been proven to prevent deep vein thrombosis in 29.9% of stroke patients. Objectives 1. Discover the effects of intermittent pneumatic compression protocol implementation in patients with severe stroke in relation to comfort and safety, and determine how long implementation would take and the work load of this new protocol. 2. Compare functional evolution after 3 months in patients on whom an IPC system was applied with the previous sample at the beginning of the system application. Method Observational, transversal and descriptive study which evaluated the viability and safety of the IPC system in acute stroke patients in the Stroke Unit of the Hospital Vall d’Hebron. IPC was applied for 24 h on patients with ischaemic stroke treated with reperfusion and on patients with intracranial haemorrhage during 72 h. Results 172 patients were included in the sample. The mean age was 71 ± 14 years. 48% were women. 79.2% were diagnosed with ischaemic stroke. In the application phase the nurses reported that prior to training they had taken 15 ± 2.3 min to use the system and that after training application only took 6 ± 1.5 min. Practically all patients (98.8%) who were given IPC suffered no discomfort and did not present with any complications derived from its use. During this period no cases of DVT were detected. Conclusions Implementation of the IPC systems protocol has been proven to have a preventative and efficient effect in the reduction of embolic complications, which is safe for the patient and with no discomfort in its use. The nurses’ work load is not increased with appropriate training. Following the introduction of the protocol a functional optimisation in patients 3 months post stroke was observed.