Priority Assessment
These are the classic 6 signs of acute arterial occlusion.
What are the 6 P's (pain, pallor, pulse, paresthesia, paralysis, poikilothermia)?
For PAD patients, legs should be kept in this position to improve perfusion.
What is a dependent position?
Finding a sudden loss of this in a PAD patient will require us to notify the provider immediately.
What are pedal pulses?
This lab value must monitored closely when a patient is on heparin therapy.
What is aPTT?
This test compares ankle and arm systolic pressures to assess arterial perfusion.
What is an ankle-brachial index (ABI)?
This is the priority assessment after vascular surgery.
What are peripheral pulses?
This lifestyle change is one of the most important for PAD patients.
What is smoking cessation?
This post-angiography complication requires urgent reporting.
What is active bleeding in the insertion site?
A platelet count of 75,000 in a patient receiving heparin suggests this complication.
What is heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)?
An ABI of 0.35 indicates this level of arterial disease.
What is severe arterial ischemia?
This symptom in PAD indicates worsening disease and poor perfusion.
What is pain at rest?
What is a walking program with rest periods?
A DVT patient develops sudden shortness of breath, this complication is suspected.
What is a pulmonary embolism?
This is the priority risk when administering thrombolytics.
This tool is used when pulses cannot be palpated in Peripheral Arterial Disease patients.
What is a doppler ultrasound?
This is the most concerning finding: sudden cold, pale, and this is absent.
What is a pulse?
This daily habit helps prevent complications in PAD patients.
What is inspecting the feet daily?
What is acute arterial occlusion?
This is the safest injection site for low-molecular-weight heparin.
What is the abdomen?
After contrast dye is used, this is the priority nursing action to prevent kidney injury.
What is encouraging fluid intake?
This neurological sign in an extremity indicates a limb-threatening emergency.
This intervention is appropriate for cellulitis management.
What is elevating the affected extremity?
This post-op finding indicates impaired circulation and must be reported immediately.
What is a cool, pale extremity?
This symptom in a patient on anticoagulants requires immediate reporting.
What is blood in the urine?
This finding after contrast administration indicates a serious complication.
What is decreased urine output?