Nurses who recently visited our Web site answered this question: Are mechanically-ventilated patients consistently given DVT prophylaxis (either with anticoagulants or mechanical methods)?
Initiating DVT prophylaxis (unless contraindicated) is part of the "ventilator bundle" recommended by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia and other avoidable complications. (See "100K Lives Campaign: IHI Initiative Beats Expectations" on page 33.)
Visit http://www.nursingcenter.com to answer our monthly survey question and view results from other surveys.