Incidence of Deep Venous Thrombosis in the Surgical Patient Population and Prophylactic Measures to Reduce Occurrence

Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are significant safety issues for surgical patients. Types of surgery and individual patient risk factors affect the probability of developing thromboembolic events. Nurses are in a strategic position to impact patient safety and help reduce health care expenditures by collaborating with the surgical team in implementing appropriate deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis using guidelines from the Seventh American College of Chest Physicians Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy.