Prospective Stratified Randomized Four-Group Study of Cabin Class and Graduated Compression Stockings on Popliteal Vein Dilation After Long-Haul Air Travel After Aesthetic Surgery

September 7, 2026 updated by: Research Inc
This four-group prospective study will enroll travelers who have independently booked economy or premium business/first-class flights to Bogota. Within each cabin stratum, participants will be randomized to moderate graduated compression stockings or no stockings. Bilateral popliteal vein ultrasound will be performed before flight, within 2 hours after arrival, and at 24 and 48 hours. The primary outcome is the interaction between cabin class and compression assignment for change in mean bilateral popliteal vein diameter.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Participants will enter the study according to their prebooked cabin class and then be randomized within that stratum to wear properly fitted knee-high graduated compression stockings or no compression during the flight. The design creates four groups. Standardized bilateral ultrasound will quantify venous diameter and cross-sectional area before departure and through 48 hours after arrival, before surgery. Mixed-effects models will estimate the randomized stocking effect, the adjusted cabin-class association, and their interaction. The protocol will record seat characteristics, ambulation, hydration, adherence, symptoms, and safety events.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

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 Contact

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 65 years.
  • Commercial itinerary to Bogota with at least 4 hours of total airborne time.
  • Prebooked premium business/first-class or economy-class cabin documented before randomization.
  • No medical requirement for or contraindication to graduated compression stockings.
  • Ability to complete standardized ultrasound before flight and through 48 hours after arrival before surgery.
  • Written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current deep venous thrombosis, therapeutic anticoagulation, or severe peripheral arterial disease.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Lower-extremity skin, neurologic, or anatomic condition preventing safe stocking use or ultrasound.
  • Cabin upgrade or downgrade after randomization that changes the prespecified stratum.
  • Surgery or major intravenous fluid therapy before the 48-hour examination.
  • Inability to follow the randomized stocking assignment.

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Economy Cabin Plus Compression
Participants with a prebooked economy itinerary randomized to knee-high moderate graduated compression stockings.
Device: Knee-High Graduated Compression Stockings
PROPOSED pressure class: 20-30 mmHg at the ankle, properly fitted and worn from approximately 1 hour before boarding through the arrival ultrasound. Product and pressure class require confirmation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression.
Other: Economy Cabin Exposure
Prebooked and completed economy-cabin travel; seat characteristics and behavior are measured but not assigned. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Bilateral Popliteal Vein Ultrasound
Triplicate bilateral diameter and cross-sectional-area measurements before flight and at arrival, 24 hours, and 48 hours by an assessor masked to stocking allocation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.
Active Comparator: Economy Cabin Without Compression
Participants with a prebooked economy itinerary randomized to no compression stockings.
Other: Economy Cabin Exposure
Prebooked and completed economy-cabin travel; seat characteristics and behavior are measured but not assigned. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Bilateral Popliteal Vein Ultrasound
Triplicate bilateral diameter and cross-sectional-area measurements before flight and at arrival, 24 hours, and 48 hours by an assessor masked to stocking allocation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.
Experimental: Premium Cabin Plus Compression
Participants with a prebooked business/first-class itinerary randomized to knee-high moderate graduated compression stockings.
Device: Knee-High Graduated Compression Stockings
PROPOSED pressure class: 20-30 mmHg at the ankle, properly fitted and worn from approximately 1 hour before boarding through the arrival ultrasound. Product and pressure class require confirmation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Bilateral Popliteal Vein Ultrasound
Triplicate bilateral diameter and cross-sectional-area measurements before flight and at arrival, 24 hours, and 48 hours by an assessor masked to stocking allocation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.
Other: Premium Cabin Exposure
Prebooked and completed business/first-class travel; seat characteristics and behavior are measured but not assigned. Linked arm/group(s): Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.
Active Comparator: Premium Cabin Without Compression
Participants with a prebooked business/first-class itinerary randomized to no compression stockings.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Bilateral Popliteal Vein Ultrasound
Triplicate bilateral diameter and cross-sectional-area measurements before flight and at arrival, 24 hours, and 48 hours by an assessor masked to stocking allocation. Linked arm/group(s): Economy Cabin Plus Compression, Economy Cabin Without Compression, Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.
Other: Premium Cabin Exposure
Prebooked and completed business/first-class travel; seat characteristics and behavior are measured but not assigned. Linked arm/group(s): Premium Cabin Plus Compression, Premium Cabin Without Compression.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cabin-Class-by-Compression Interaction in Change in Popliteal Vein Diameter
Time Frame: Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival at the study site. 3 days
Interaction term between prebooked cabin stratum and randomized stocking assignment for the change in participant-level mean bilateral popliteal vein diameter from preflight baseline to arrival.
Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival at the study site. 3 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Randomized Compression Stocking Effect on Arrival-Related Diameter Change
Time Frame: Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival. 3 days
Adjusted mean difference between stocking and no-stocking assignments overall and separately within each cabin stratum.
Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival. 3 days
Adjusted Cabin-Class Association With Arrival-Related Diameter Change
Time Frame: Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival. 3 days
Adjusted mean difference between premium and economy cabin groups overall and separately by stocking assignment. This contrast is observational because cabin class is not randomized.
Within 24 hours before departure and within 2 hours after arrival. 3 days
Four-Group Popliteal Vein Diameter Trajectory
Time Frame: Within 24 hours before departure; within 2 hours after arrival; 24 +/- 2 hours; and 48 +/- 2 hours after arrival. 3 days
Estimated mean bilateral diameter and change from baseline in each of the four groups across postarrival time points.
Within 24 hours before departure; within 2 hours after arrival; 24 +/- 2 hours; and 48 +/- 2 hours after arrival. 3 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Research Inc

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Hugo Aguilar

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 (Actual)

January 12, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 018

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

not contempled in the patient informed concent

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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