Effect of body position and graduated compression stocking length on femoral venous blood flow velocity

Objectives: To measure the effect of graduated compression stocking (GCS) length and body position on peak femoral venous blood flow velocity (PVV) and vessel diameter (VD). Methods: Twenty healthy adult volunteers had PVV and VD measured, using colour Doppler ultrasound, at baseline in three body positions. Knee- or thigh-length GCS were assigned randomly. A random sequence of the three positions was used to measure PVV and VD. The procedure was repeated, after a two-hour washout period, using the other length GCS. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean change of PVV (P=0.74) or VD (P=0.54) measurements from the baseline between thigh- and knee-length GCS. However, significant mean changes in PVV (P=0.02) and VD (P<0.001) measurements were observed for the three body positions, after adjusting for baseline values. Conclusions: In healthy volunteers, thigh- and knee-length GCS do not have an effect on PVV or VD, and body position affects PVV significantly, with or without GCS.