Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of compression bandages should be shown

doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7134.860

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Peter J Franks, Codirector,
Christine J Moffatt, Codirector

Centre for Research and Implementation of Clinical Practice at Thames Valley University, Wolfson Institute of Health Sciences, London W5 2BS

EDITOR—Fletcher et al report their systematic review of compression treatment for venous leg ulcers.1 As researchers who perform randomised trials of compression bandages, we echo their concern that the quality of research is poor in this area.

A particular concern of ours is that, unlike pharmaceuticals, bandages (which are classified as medical devices), do not need to undergo rigorous clinical testing to establish effectiveness before being released on to the market. Moreover, provided …