[Routine nursing measures for thrombosis prevention in a university hospital].

A literature search on the subject of thrombosis prevention showed that there have been changes in preventive nursing measures in the last three decades. Data on preventive measures as actually employed at the different Clinics of the Innsbruck Medical University were gathered with the help of written questionnaires (completed by 192 staff nurses and 111 nursing students) with the aim of instituting improvements in such measures in actual practice. Our investigation showed that 56.9% of the participants did not know what the appropriate time was for discarding graduated elastic compression stockings for antithrombotic prophylaxis; 72.7% reported that they measured patients' legs for proper fit only seldom or not at all. 77.5% said that patients refused to wear the elastic stockings during the night. Only 22.3% reported that the compression device was worn by patients 24 hours a day. 82.5% had not participated in any continuing education programmes on thrombosis prophylaxis in the past five years. According to 42.3% of study participants, nursing measures for thrombosis prevention must be carried out jointly by physician and nurse. Based on this investigation, we have compiled a booklet of guidelines to be used for teaching nursing students and for continuing education of staff nurses, and have raised our internal standards to comply with the state of the art in thrombosis prevention. We plan to investigate antithrombotic measures currently in place in the area of intensive care. It is also planned to invite the opinion of patients on the matter of wearing compression stockings for thrombosis prophylaxis in order to gain some understanding of the reasons why patients refuse to wear them at night.