and coagulability. "Used together, stockings and
SCDs cover all three points," says Ms. Razzano.
For compression to be effective, though, it
must be in use, and it is most effective if used
continuously throughout the perioperative
journey. Stockings or SCDs should be applied
in pre-op, before the induction of anesthesia.
"We're the first step in seeing the patient. If
we don't get it started in the beginning, it
won't have the full impact later," says Cheryl
A. Marsh, BS, RN, CNOR, a nurse clinical edu-
cator at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital
in Houston, Texas. "Once it's placed on the
patient in pre-op, it should stay on throughout
the process. Use it as soon as it is applied.
Make sure it's attached after the patient
arrives in the OR. When the patient gets up to
ambulate after surgery, are they reapplied
when they return?"
Compression should continue until the
patient is discharged, and this care should be
documented, says Ms. Razzano, who also rec-
ommends that patients wearing stockings be
discharged with them on. Some manufactur-
ers even offer take-home compression units
with disposable sleeves for post-surgical DVT
prophylaxis.
A pharmaceutical approach
While mechanical compression's low-impact,
D E E P - V E I N T H R O M B O S I S
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