Intermittent Pneumatic Compression device
OVERVIEW
- aka sequential compression devices
USE
- prevent lower limb DVTs in immobile patients
DESCRIPTION
- intermittent pneumatic compression system
- air filled sleeves that surround the lower limb compartments (thighs and calves)
- connected to an air pump
- sequentially inflated
METHOD OF USE
- sleeves wrapped around the patient’s limbs and attached to the pump via air tubes
- cyclic sequential inflation of the sleeves that applies pressure to the underlying muscles (e.g. 10s inflated then 60s deflated)
- inflation pressures:
— up to 50 mmHg at the knee
— up to 35 mmHg at the calf
—up to 30 mmHg at the thigh
COMPLICATIONS
- pressure areas
- exacerbation of ischemia in peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
- exacerbation of compartment syndrome
- potential to trigger PE if applied to limbs where DVTs have already formed
OTHER INFORMATION
- generally well tolerated
- little limb movement restriction
Critical Care
Compendium
Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.
After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.
He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.
His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.
On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.
| INTENSIVE | RAGE | Resuscitology | SMACC