Black holes in compression therapy: A quest for data

Objective: Although compression therapy (CT) is considered a crucial conservative treatment in chronic venous disease, strong evidence is missing for many clinical indications. This literature review aims to point out what strong evidence we have for CT and all the clinical scenarios where strong evidence still needs to be included.

Methods: The research was conducted on MEDLINE with PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. The time range was set between January 1980 and October 2022. Only articles in English were included.

Results: The main problem with CT is the low scientific quality of many studies on compression. Consequently, we have robust data on the effectiveness of CT only for advanced venous insufficiency (C3-C6), deep vein thrombosis and lymphedema. We have data on the efficacy of compression for venous symptoms control and in sports recovery, but the low quality of studies cannot result in a strong recommendation. For compression in postvenous procedures, superficial venous thrombosis, thromboprophylaxis, post-thrombotic syndrome prevention and treatment, and sports performance, we have either no data or very debated data not allowing any recommendation.

Conclusions: We need high-level scientific studies to assess if CT can be effective or definitely ineffective in the clinical indications where we still have a paucity of or contrasting data.