1. References
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2015). Venous Thromboembolism (Blood Clots) - Data & Statistics. Retrieved from the website http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/data.html
    2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2016). Venous Thromboembolism (Blood Clots) - Facts. Retrieved from the website http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/facts.html
    3. D-dimer, (2015). Lab Tests Online. American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Retrieved from the website https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/d-dimer/tab/test/
    4. Huether, S.E. & McCance, K. L. (2012). Understanding pathophysiology (Laureate custom ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
    5. McPhee, S. J., & Hammer, G. D. (2010). Pathophysiology of disease: An introduction to clinical medicine (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical.
    6. Zimbron, J. (2008). Mind maps—Dementia, endocarditis, and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://MedMaps.co.uk
  2. Epidemiology
    1. Triad of Virchow
      1. Venous Stasis
        1. Immobility
        2. Age
        3. Congestive Heart Failure
      2. Venous Endothelial
        1. Trauma
        2. Intravenous medications
      3. Hypercolial Damage
        1. Inherited disorders
        2. Malignancy
        3. Pregnancy
        4. Oral contraceptives
        5. Hormone Replacement Therapy
    2. Orthopedic Trauma/ Surgery
    3. Spinal Cord Injury
    4. Obstetric/ Gynecologic Surgery or Diseases
    5. Genetic/ Inherited Abnormalities
    6. Associated with up to 100% rate of DVT
  3. Pathophysiology
    1. The clotting factor and platelets accumulation leads to thrombus typically near a valve.
    2. Inflammation near the clot leads to further accumulation and irritation growing the area of the thrombus.
    3. Most clots resolve without treatments.
  4. Clinical Presentation
    1. !!!!!Most DVTs are asymptomatic!!!!
    2. Associated pain in area of DVT
    3. Inflammation
    4. Redness or streaking in area affected ---> Typically lower extremities
    5. Post-thrombosis systems ---> Ulcers, Pain, Edema in affected area
  5. Diagnosis
    1. Elevated serum D-dimer
    2. Doppler Ultrasonography
    3. Often diagnosis is confirmed from occurrence
  6. Treatment
    1. Precautions/ Prevention for at-risk individuals
      1. Early ambulation after surgery
      2. Compression Therapy -Compression socks/ TED hoses
      3. Pneumatic Devices
      4. Prophylactic Anticoagulation i.e. Lovenox shots
    2. Anticoagulation Therapy
      1. Low-molecular-weight Heparin
      2. Warfarin
      3. Lovenox shots
    3. Inferior Vena Cava Filter ---> This may be indicated for some individual to help prevent pulmonary embolism.