• As soon as possible after admission
• For up to 30 days
• Day and Night if possible
• Take off during bathing but remember to re-apply afterwards
• Can be taken off during therapy sessions but remember to re-apply afterwards
• Don’t worry about interruptions in IPC treatment and if patients only tolerate IPC during the day and remove overnight, that is better than no IPC

The CLOTS 3 trial only tested IPC for the first 30 days because this is the period when the risk of DVT is highest. It is generally recommended to remove IPC at 30 days. However, if the patient remains immobile beyond 30 days and then becomes unwell with infection or dehydration it would be logical to re-apply IPC until these additional risk factors have been effectively treated. This strategy has not been tested in a randomised trial.