A Comparison of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Intermittent Pneumatic Compression in Terms of Lower Limb Blood Flow

August 1, 2013 updated by: Gearoid O Laighin, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

A Comparison of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Intermittent Pneumatic Compression in Terms of Lower Limb Haemodynamics

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a life threatening condition and a serious concern among hospitalized patients, with death occurring in approximately 6% of cases. It involves the formation of a clot where stagnant blood flow occurs, predominantly in the deep veins of the legs. Three mechanisms underlie DVT, venous stasis (slowing or stopping of the blood), hypercoagulability (increased clotting) and damage to blood vessel endothelium (damage to blood vessel wall), collectively known as Virchow's triad.

Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) have been shown to improve lower limb blood flow. However, few studies have directly compared the two methods and those that have, have used dated NMES techniques.

The objective of this study is to compare the two methods in terms of blood flow.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a life threatening condition and a serious concern among hospitalized patients, with death occurring in approximately 6% of cases. It involves the formation of a clot where stagnant blood flow occurs, predominantly in the deep veins of the legs. Three mechanisms underlie DVT, venous stasis (slowing or stopping of the blood), hypercoagulability (increased clotting) and damage to blood vessel endothelium (damage to blood vessel wall), collectively known as Virchow's triad.

Intermittent Pneumatic Compression (IPC) involves the use of an inflatable cuff placed around the limb. This cuff inflates and deflates intermittently in order to squeeze blood from the underlying veins. Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) leads to a contraction of muscles by delivering a series of controlled electrical pulses via skin surface electrodes placed over the motor points of the targeted muscle.

Both IPC and NMES have been shown to improve lower limb blood flow. However, few studies have directly compared the two methods and those that have, have used dated NMES techniques.

The objective of this study is to compare the two methods in terms of lower limb haemodynamics.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Ireland
      • Galway, Ireland
        • National University of Ireland, Galway

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Free from any known illness.
  • Between 18 and 40 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of heart/respiratory problems
  • Pregnancy
  • Presence of implants, including cardiac pacemakers or orthopaedic implants
  • History of a neurological disorder
  • History of severe arterial disease or known dermatological problems.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: DVT Prophylaxis

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation is to be applied using a custom-built, two-channel stimulator (Duo-STIM (stimulator), Bioelectronics Research Cluster, National University of Ireland, Galway) with a frequency of 36 Hz, a balanced biphasic waveform with a pulse width of 350μs, a ramp up time of 500ms, a contraction time of 1s and a ramp down time of 500ms. Stimulation is to be applied every 20 seconds over a period of 5 minutes.

Intermittent pneumatic compression is to be applied using the Novamedix A-V Impulse System Model 6000 (Novamedix distribution Limited, England), programmed to deliver compression every 20 seconds at a pressure of 130 mmHg for a 1 second duration over a period of 5 minutes.
Device: AV Impulse System Model 6000
Other Names:
  • Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Device
Device: Duo-STIM neuromuscular electrical stimulator

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Blood Flow Measurements from the Lower Limb
Time Frame: An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)
Doppler measurements must be taken for each of the interventions. The measurement site of interest is the popliteal vein, located at the lateral aspect of the knee, below the sapheno-popliteal junction. Peak venous velocity, time averaged mean velocity, vein cross-sectional area and volume flow are required. A minimum of 3 measurements per intervention is required for rigor. Do not take any measurement within the first minute of the intervention
An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Blood Pressure
Time Frame: An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)
An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)
Heart Rate
Time Frame: An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)
An hour and a half (plus or minus half an hour)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

Collaborators

Irish Research Council
Galway Clinic

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 21, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

June 26, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 2, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 1, 2013

Last Verified

August 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EE-NMES-DVT-333

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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