Posttrombotisch syndroom, is de kous af?

• Post thrombotic syndrome (PTS) is a common chronic complication of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). PTS has a negative impact on quality of life. Patients with a more serious form of this syndrome have increased rates of sick leave and incur increased medical costs.
• The underlying processes leading to PTS are not yet fully understood. Pressure increases in the deep-venous system, resulting in venous hypertension.
• Venous hypertension is the cause of the most important symptoms of PTS: pain, oedema and skin abnormalities.
• Compression therapy reduces oedema and pain in patients in the acute phase following DVT.
• Based on convincing results from randomised trials, elastic compression therapy was recommended for patients with DVT for many years, in order to prevent venous hypertension and PTS.
• Recent studies have led to discussion on the added value of elastic compression.

Conflict of interest and financial support: A.J. ten Cate-Hoek received a grant from ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) (project number 171102007) while conducting this study.