Background: Patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery are at an extremely high risk of developing venous thromboembolism, which deserves adequate attention. However, few studies have focused on knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism. The study had three objectives: (1) to investigate knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery, (2) to analyze its influential factors, and (3) to provide evidence for interventions.
Methods: The convenience sampling method was adopted to select 464 patients who underwent major orthopedic surgery in a third-level first-class hospital in Beijing. A self-designed questionnaire was administered to these patients to investigate their knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism.
Results: Of the 464 respondents, 32.1% had good knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism, and 30.8% had poor knowledge of it. In total, 40.1% of the participants had a clear understanding of the risk factors for venous thromboembolism, and 31% had a poor understanding. The clinical manifestations of venous thromboembolism were well understood by 29.3% participants and poorly understood by 40.9% participants. In total, 13.8% participants had knowledge of preventive measures for venous thromboembolism, and 31.2% had poor knowledge of such preventive measures. Living condition, knowledge of venous thromboembolism before hospitalization, and receiving knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism during hospitalization were important factors affecting the knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery.
Conclusions: The knowledge level of prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery is poor, and medical personnel should pay full attention to this issue and disseminate knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism during hospitalization to improve patients’ knowledge of this condition.