A patient is 8 hours postoperative after a long orthopedic procedure. The student asks why this patient is at particular risk of developing a thromboembolism. What response by the healthcare professional is best?
A)Patients tend to have venous stasis from orthopedic operations.
B)Anesthetic agents often cause an immune response against clotting factors.
C)Endothelial damage occurs and repair is slowed by postoperative pain.
D)Atherosclerotic build up causes turbulent blood flow leading to clots.

Question

A patient is 8 hours postoperative after a long orthopedic procedure. The student asks why this patient is at particular risk of developing a thromboembolism. What response by the healthcare professional is best?
A)Patients tend to have venous stasis from orthopedic operations.
B)Anesthetic agents often cause an immune response against clotting factors.
C)Endothelial damage occurs and repair is slowed by postoperative pain.
D)Atherosclerotic build up causes turbulent blood flow leading to clots.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Thromboembolic events are caused by some component of Virchow triad: endothelial injury, abnormal blood flow, and hypercoagulability of the blood. Long operative procedures such as orthopedic cases promote venous stasis. Anesthetic agents are not implicated. Endothelial repair is not appreciably hindered by postoperative pain. Atherosclerotic buildup can lead to endothelial injury but that is not specific to this patient.

A Patient Is 8 Hours Postoperative After a Long Orthopedic