title: Effectiveness of elastic stocking decompression.
abstract: The compression effectiveness of the five leading brands of antiembolism stockings was compared and related to criteria previously described (pressure gradient diminishing from 18 mm Hg at the ankle to 8 mm Hg at the thigh). Tests were conducted using a standard leg form in common use within the hosiery industry, fitted with specially developed sensors. All of the stockings achieved pressures higher than recommended-some substantially. Elastic stockings from two manufacturers demonstrated tourniquet effects at the calf. Several brands ceased to preserve a continuously diminishing pressure gradient above the knee. Deviation of leg diameter from standard geometry was accompanied by a substantial increase (decrease) in pressure with increasing (decreasing) girth. Reproducibility of pressure effects produced by identical-sized stockings varied among the brands tested.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003020:Clothing / Q000592:standards*; D003664:Decompression / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004548:Elasticity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D011312:Pressure / Q000295:instrumentation*