Effects of different exercise interventions on prevention of DVT among elderly patients undergoing abdominal operation

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of different exercise interventions on the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) mong elderly patients undergoing abdominal operation. Methods By convenience sampling method, 96 elderly patients who underwent abdominal operation were recruited in this study. All the patients were admitted to the general surgery department of Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from January to December 2015. According to random digits table method, patients were divided evenly into the control group and the observation group. Patients in the control group were asked to keep the horizontal position without pillow for six hours after the operation and turn over every two hours afterwards. On the other hand, patients in the observation group underwent passive exercise intervention on their ankles and muscles two hours after the operation, and they received treatment of turning over and tapping backs four hours after the operation. Besides, they were also encouraged to do more active exercise. The incidence of DVT and the maximum blood flow rate (BFR) as well as the average BFR of femoral veins in three days and seven days after the operation were investigated. Results The number of patients getting DVT in the control group was 16 (33.3%) while that in the observation group was 6 (12.5%) , which means the incidence of DVT in the observation group was lower (χ2=6.257, P<0.05) . The maximum BFR of femoral veins investigated three days and seven days after operation were (48.3±5.8) and (58.8±5.2) ml/min respectively in the observation group, while the figures were (36.1±3.2) and (45.4±3.8) ml/min respectively in the control group (t=5.632, 6.171; P<0.05) . The average BFR investigated three days and seven days after operation were (28.3±3.4) ml/min and (34.5±4.6) in the observation group and they were (20.1±2.2) and (25.7±3.2) ml/min in the control group (t=2.421, 3.317; P<0.05) . Conclusions Active exercise and passive exercise intervention should be given to elderly patiens two hours after operation, and treatment of turning over and tapping backs should be given four hours after operation to increase the BFR of lower extremities, so as to effectively prevent the occurrence of postoperative DVT. Key words: Aged; Deep venous thrombosis; Blood flow rate; Abdominal operation; Exercise intervention