Mind the GAPS Study - Compression Stockings are Useless for Most Elective Surgery Patients!14/9/2020
Cricoid pressure prevents aspirations, preoperative antibiotics avoid infections, and compression stockings protect against deep vein thrombosis. Many medical measures aim to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients, but unfortunately, the benefit of these measures is often not, or insufficiently, proven. Under certain circumstances, they may lead to additional problems or even cause harm (e.g. cricoid pressure Read Here). Time has definitely come to take a closer look at compression stockings for surgical patients. Apart from the fact that they look terrible, they are just as uncomfortable to wear and even carry certain risks in patients with peripheral vascular disease, for example. The effectiveness of compression stockings in modern practice has been questioned, but robust evidence has been lacking. This seems to change, as the long-awaited GAPS-Trial has been published and now provides further evidence on what concern patients undergoing elective surgery. Among this population, adding compression stockings to pharmaco-thromboprophylaxis was non-superior compared to pharmaco-thromboprophylaxis alone (primary outcome). There was also no difference in the quality of life outcomes found (secondary outcome). There is now some robust evidence to omit compression stockings in surgical patients that receive pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. Shalhou J. et al. BMJ 2020;369:m1309 The W.H.O. has repeatedly warned that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health today. Among all measures we can take to try and reduce this problem, merely avoiding unnecessary treatments is maybe one of the most effective. It is therefore pleasing that another piece of good evidence has been published, supporting the avoidance of antibiotics in the event of non-complicated diverticulitis (defined as non-perforated diverticulitis with a Hinchey 1a grade in computed tomography). The investigators performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in which they compared 180 patients with non-complicated diverticulitis to receive either cefuroxime, metronidazole, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid or placebo. They found No significant difference in the median time of hospital stay (primary outcome). Also, there were no significant differences between groups in adverse events, readmission to the hospital within one week, and readmission to the hospital within 30 days. These findings complement other studies indicating that observational treatment without antibiotics can be considered appropriate in patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis. |
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