Patients undergoing operations on the hip for either replacement or
fracture were chosen for this study. Fifty-two subjects received cyclic
sequential compression as well as elevation of the lower limb while another
fifty-two patients were treated with only elevation of the lower limb. No
other method of prophylaxis for deep venous thrombosis was employed during
the study period. Support stockings were used after removal of the
compression device. Doppler ultrasound, phleborheography, and, when
possible, radioiodinated fibrinogen scanning were used for identification
and location of thrombi. A deep-vein thrombosis developed in ten patients
(19 per cent) in the control group and in only one patient (2 per cent) in
the group that was treated with compression. This difference is
statistically significant (p less than 0.05).