"Economy-Class Syndrome"

New York Times News Service
Jul. 12, 2005 04:45 PM


People who take long airplane flights may want to wear graduated-compression stockings when they fly; those who don't are considerably more likely to suffer deep vein thrombosis, blood clots in the veins of the legs that can be fatal if they travel to the pulmonary arteries.

A systematic review that appears in the July issue of The Journal of Advanced Nursing concludes that the elasticized stockings, which apply increasing pressure from the ankles up, are highly effective in reducing the risk of clots.

"We cannot declare that graduated-compression stockings can be used as the sole substitute for the usual recommendations: mild exercise, drinking water, wearing comfortable clothes and so on," said Feng-Ping Lee, a co-author of the review.

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But Lee added that even though all participants in the studies were given the customary advice, those who did not wear graduated-compression stockings were still more than 12 times as likely to develop deep vein thrombosis as those who did.

The researchers, examining nine randomized controlled trials of the stockings, found that the below-knee style was very effective in preventing what is sometimes called "economy-class syndrome."

The types that go above the knee, however, were not helpful in reducing the risk, according to the research.

Lee, who is an assistant professor at Fooyin University in Taiwan, said the graduated-compression stockings were available at medical supply stores and on the Internet. He added that "based on our review, we feel it would be worthwhile for air travelers" to wear them.