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Quite often, we keep doing things simply because we've always done them that way. In many intensive care units (ICU), one of those practices is “dual therapy” for preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE): pharmacologic prophylaxis plus pneumatic compression devices. In 2019, a large multinational study put this practice to the test.
A total of 2000 ICU patients were randomized to receive pharmacologic prophylaxis alone (with a choice of unfractionated heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin) or in conjunction with intermittent pneumatic compression. Patients most commonly were admitted to the ICU for nonsurgical and non–trauma-related issues, and data on high-risk states (e.g., malignancy) were not reported. Adherence to use of pneumatic comp…