title: Effect of venous support on edema and leg pain in patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of external venous support on edema and pain in the saphenous graft leg of patients who had coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) 5 days and 1 month after surgery. Fifty-six patients who had CABG surgery were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 24) or control (n = 32) group. Subjects in the experimental group wore graded compression support hose. Edema was assessed by using ankle, calf, and thigh circumference measurements. Pain was measured on a visual analog scale. Hose were effective in preventing edema during hospitalization, but results at 1 month were inconclusive. There was no difference in leg pain for experimental and control subjects. That a number of patients in the experimental group were unable to complete the study suggests that off-the-shelf, thigh-high support hose may not be useful for individuals with disproportionately large thighs. Further investigation of the long-term effects of support hose is warranted.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas, Health Science Center, School of Nursing, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liehr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Culligan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001458:Bandages; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004487:Edema / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation