Frequency of use of elastic compression stockings in patients with chronic venous disease of the lower extremities.

Abstract

Objective To determine the frequency of use of elastic compression stockings in patients with lower extremity chronic venous disease. Methods An explorational, prospective, transversal, observational, descriptive, analytical study including 168 patients was performed. We identified the proportion of patients using elastic compression stockings. The odds ratio (OR) was used to determine the relation between elastic compression stocking use and previous medical attention for chronic venous disease. Results Only 59 patients (35.1%) were using elastic compression stockings at the time of the study. We determined that the patients who had received previous medical attention to manage chronic venous disease in their lower extremities were >3 times more likely to use elastic compression stockings than patients who had not received previous medical attention (OR = 3.3, p < 0.0001). Conclusions Although there is sufficient evidence of the effectiveness of elastic compression stockings for treating chronic venous disease in the lower extremities, their use is relatively infrequent (35.1%).