A nurse is caring for a 32-year-old pregnant woman who is admitted to the obstetric unit with the chief complaint of right-sided leg pain and swelling for 3 days. The patient is in her third trimester of pregnancy. When the nurse collects her history, she states she has been healthy, with no known medical problems in the past. She does not take medications at this time but gives a history of using oral birth control pills before she became pregnant On physical exam, the nurse notes that the right leg is larger than the left with increased swelling and pain on palpation of the calf muscle. The admitting diagnosis is right-sided deep vein thrombosis 1. Reviewing the information given, what risk factors does this patient have that could increase her chance of development of a clot? Are there other risk factors the nurse should consider?
2. This patient because she is pregnant is prescribed heparin intravenously as treatment for the clot. Describe how this drug works. How does heparin impact the normal clotting process?
(Learning Objectives 6, 7, 8)