Posted on August 15, 2012
Surgery has risk. One of the biggest risks with any surgery is a blood clot. If the clot, which usually forms in the leg, dislodges, it can travel to the lung and make it hard to breathe. If it is large enough, it can be deadly.
There is a score which was revised recently to assess your risk for blood clot. This is called the Caprini Risk Assessment Model. Take the test below:
A. YOU GET 1 POINT FOR EACH :
- age 40-59 years
- minor surgery planned
- history of prior major surgery
- varicose veins
- history of inflammatory bowel disease
- swollen legs current)
- Obesity (BMI> 30)
- Acute heart attack (within one month)
- congestive heart failure (within one month)
- sepsis (within one month)
- Serious lung disease including pneumonia (within one month)
- Abnormal pulmonary lung function (COPD)
- medical patient currently at bed rest
- leg plaster cast or brace
- central venous access (an IV which was placed in a hospital into one of your big veins)
- blood transfusion (within the last month)
A2. FOR WOMEN ONLY. EACH IS 1 POINT
- birth control or hormone replacement
- pregnancy or postpartum (within the last month)
- history of stillborn infant, recurrent spontaneous abortion (> or = to 3), premature birth with growth restriction
B: 2 POINTS FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
- Age 60-74
- major surgery (less than an hour)
- arthroscopic surgery (more than an hour)
- laparoscopic surgery (more than an hour)
- previous malignancy (ie history of cancer)
- Morbid obesity (BMI > 40)
C. Each risk factor is 3 POINTS
- age over 75
- major surgery lasting 2-3 hours (many plastic surgical procedures are more than 2 hours)
- BMI > 50 (venous stasis syndrome)
- history of SVT, or a blood clot, DVT (deep vein thrombosis), or PE (pulmonary embolus)
- Family history of DVT/ PE
- present cancer or chemotherapy
- Factor V Leiden is present (this is something you can know from blood testing/ genetic testing)
- Positive prothrombin 20210A
- elevated serum homocysteine
- positive lupus anticoagulant
- elevated anticardiolipin antibodies
- heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)
D. These are all 5 POINTS
- elective major lower extremity arthroplasty
- hip, pelvis, or leg fractures (within the last month)
- stroke (within the last month)
- multiple trauma (within the last month)
- acute spinal cord injury/ paralysis (within the last month)
- major surgery lasting over 3 hours (again, many plastic surgery procedures do)
SO WHAT IS YOUR SCORE?????
see the next blog to figure out what it means….