Relationship between duration of bedrest and occurrence of deep vein thrombosis in patients having undergone total hip replacement surgery

This ex post facto study examined the medical records of 100 patients who underwent total hip replacement surgery (THR) in order to ascertain the relationship between duration of bedrest and incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a Salt Lake City hospital. No case of DVT were documented in the charts reviewed. Results indicated that ambulation following three day of bedrest after THR surgery appears to be sufficient to avoid complications of venous emboli. However, limitations such as retrospective design and use of clinical signs to detect DVT, limited the validity of the results. Five patients presented simultaneous risk facts of DVT and complications that suggested the need for a more objective test definitively rule out the disorder. The use of more sophisticated technique to confirm the efficacy of early ambulation and anticoaqulant therapy in the prevention of DVT in THR surgery patients is recommended. Nurses are urged to develop awareness of the risk factors and to maintain suspicion in the face of clinical sighs for DVT.