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Abstract
The purpose of our study was to assess the amount of posttraumatic lower limb edema
and its distribution between subcutaneous and subfascial compartments before and after
intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) therapy in patients with fractures of the
lower leg immobilized with a cast for six to 12 weeks. Computed tomography (CT) was
used as an objective method of measuring the compartmental distribution of edema.
Sixteen patients with a mean age of 37 years (range 19 to 64 years) were investigated
by clinical measurement of the leg circumference and by CT at the ankle joint and
at three equidistant (10cm) levels above it. The unaffected leg served as a control
for the evaluation of the amount of edema and density of the tissues. Edema was found
primarily in subcutaneous tissue. The IPC treatment decreased relative edema from
23% to 15.9% (p < 0.01) as measured by CT, and from 23.5% to 13.2% as measured clinically. The density
of muscle tissue increased 9% (p < 0.01) and that of subcutaneous tissue decreased 5.6% (p < 0.05). The IPC treatment influenced both the amount of edema and the density of
tissue compartments.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 23,
1990
Received:
November 24,
1989
Identification
Copyright
© 1991 Published by Elsevier Inc.
