Adjuvant compression therapy in orthopaedic surgery—an evidence-based review

Ageing, deep vein thrombosis and male gender predict poor outcome after acute Achilles tendon rupture

AIMS

Patients with an acute Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) take a long time to heal, have a high incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and widely variable functional outcomes. This variation in outcome may be explained by a lack of knowledge of adverse factors, and a subsequent shortage of appropriate interventions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 111 patients (95 men, 16 women; mean age 40.3, standard deviation 8.4) with an acute total ATR were prospectively assessed. At one year post-operatively a uniform outcome score, Achilles Combined Outcome Score (ACOS), was obtained by combining three validated, independent, outcome measures: Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score, heel-rise height test, and limb symmetry heel-rise height. Predictors of ACOS included treatment; gender; age; smoking; body mass index; time to surgery; physical activity level pre- and post-injury; symptoms; quality of life and incidence of DVT.

RESULTS

There were three independent variables that correlated significantly with the dichotomised outcome score (ACOS), while there was no correlation with other factors. An age of less than 40 years old was the strongest independent predictor of a good outcome one year after ATR (odds ratio (OR) 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08 to 0.51), followed by female gender (OR) 4.18, 95% CI 1.01 to 17.24). Notably, patients who did not have a DVT while immobilised post-operatively had a better outcome (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.80).

CONCLUSION

Over the age of 40 years, male gender and having a DVT while immobilised are independent negative predictors of outcome in patients with an acute ATR. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1635-41.

Deep Venous Thrombosis and Tendon Healing

Tendon metabolism after acute Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) is associated with major complications related to immobilization, which results in reduced circulation, high risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), impaired healing and functional deficits.DVT has been demonstrated to occur in up to 50 % of the patients with ATR. Suffering from a DVT during tendon healing has been demonstrated as an independent predictive factor for impaired patient outcome at 1 year after ATR, suggesting that specific interventions are warranted to prevent DVT. Since pharmacological DVT prophylaxis has low or no effect during lower leg immobilization it is speculated whether adjuvant treatment with intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) applied during lower limb immobilization can reduce the incidence of DVT.IPC, which acts through mechanical, chemical and molecular mechanisms, has been demonstrated to enhance neuro-vascular ingrowth in a tendon repair model and stimulate collagen production leading to improved maximum force during healing.Recently, a prospective randomized trial compared adjuvant IPC applied under an orthosis versus plaster cast only in ATR patients. The study found at 2 weeks post-operatively 21 % DVTs in the IPC-group compared to 37 % in the control group. Patients that received no IPC treatment exhibited an almost threefold increased odds for DVT, independently of age. Furthermore, using microdialysis technique, adjuvant IPC treatment was shown to increase the metabolic healing activity at 2 weeks post-ATR.Tendon healing is impaired by reduced circulation and DVT. The demonstration that adjuvant IPC effectively reduced DVT incidence, and also is capable of enhancing the metabolic response suggests that IPC treatment may not only be a viable means of prophylaxis against DVT, but possibly also a method of promoting healing.

Intermittent pneumatic compression reduces the risk of deep vein thrombosis during post-operative lower limb immobilisation

Deep vein thrombosis is a common complication of immobilising the lower limb after surgery. We hypothesised that intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) therapy in outpatients who had undergone surgical repair of acute ruptures of the Achilles tendon could reduce the incidence of this problem.

A total of 150 patients who had undergone surgical repair of the Achilles tendon were randomised to either treatment with IPC for six hours per day (n = 74) under an orthosis or treatment as usual (n = 74) in a plaster cast without IPC. At two weeks post-operatively, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was assessed using blinded, double-reported compression duplex ultrasound. At this point, IPC was discontinued and all patients were immobilised in an orthosis for a further four weeks. At six weeks post-operatively, a second compression duplex ultrasound scan was performed.

At two weeks, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was 21% in the treated group and 37% in the control group (p = 0.042). Age over 39 years was found to be a strong risk factor for deep vein thrombosis (odds ratio (OR) = 4.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.14 to 10.96). Treatment with IPC, corrected for age differences between groups, reduced the risk of deep vein thrombosis at the two-week point (OR = 2.60; 95% CI 1.15 to 5.91; p =0.022). At six weeks, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was 52% in the treated group and 48% in the control group (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.83). IPC appears to be an effective method of reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis in the early stages of post-operative immobilisation of outpatients. Further research is necessary to elucidate whether it can confer similar benefits over longer periods of immobilisation and in a more heterogeneous group of patients.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:675–80.