New Study Pokes Holes in Stockings-for-Blood-Clots Treatment
You know those special lower leg stockings worn by some stroke patients to prevent potentially deadly blood clots from forming? Well, it turns out they don’t really work and may in fact cause painful skin problems, according to British researchers.
The tight, thigh-high leg stockings are prescribed to stroke patients to prevent clots in the legs. The theory is, by squeezing the legs and forcing the blood to better circulate through the legs, clots will not form. Many stroke patients cannot walk, which also increases the risks of blood clots. The inexpensive stockings often are prescribed as alternatives to blood-thinning drugs such as heparin.
If clots that form in the legs break free and circulate through the blood to reach the heart or the lungs, they can cause heart attacks and strokes.
The stockings are more popular in Britain, where they are prescribed to treat about 80,000 stroke patients each year, officials said.
Study Finds No Benefit
But in a study of more than 2,500 stroke patients in Britain, Italy, and Australia, physicians found the stockings did not lower the risk of a clot. Also, people wearing the stockings were more likely to develop blisters, ulcers, and other skin problems, the researchers said.
The stockings have been proven effective in preventing clots in some surgery patients, leading many physicians to assume the treatment would benefit stroke patients.
For the study, half of the stroke patients received standard medical care and half were given standard treatment along with the stockings. An ultrasound taken of patients’ legs seven to 10 days later and again after 25 to 30 days showed patients in both groups were just as likely to develop blood clots. About one in 10 patients in each group had clots, the study found.
Skin Problems Associated With Stockings
Also, among the stocking group, five percent complained of skin problems, blisters, and other complications compared to just one percent in the non-stocking group, researchers said.
The study was sponsored by Britain’s Medical Research Council, the Scottish government, the health charity Heart and Stroke Scotland, Tyco Healthcare in the United States, and the U.K. Stroke Research Network.
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