Thrombophlebitis Continued

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Thrombophlebitis Continued

• Nick Myhre

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Signs and Symptoms

• Swelling, Redness, and Pain associated with the
  clot.

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Prehospital Tx

• Elevate the affected area
• Remove any undue pressure to reduce damage to
  tissue
• Apply moist heat to the area
• Medications
• NSAIDs
• Antibiotics if the area is infected
• Analgesics

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More Info

• If superficial thrombophlebitis is evident
  without obvious cause, suspect deep vein
  thrombophlebitis because the pathophysiology and
  risk factors.
• This happens because the body is secreting
  clotting factors in that area, and they can be
  lodged in multiple places.
• After autopsies MEs have found that DVTs were not
  contiguous with superficial thrombophlebitis.

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More Info

• Deep Vein Thrombophlebitis are usually silent,
  but can present the normal signs and symptoms.
• Trauma is a very common cause of the phlebitis
  because trauma causes and inflammation in the
  area, increasing the platelet aggregation.

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I was wrong

• Pregnant women or postpartum women are at
  increased risk because of the elevated estrogen
  levels, which causes platelets to become sticky,
  and clot

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Found a better site

• Lots of possible causes
• AIDS (lupus anticoagulant)
• Antithrombin III deficiency
• Behçet disease
• Blood type A
• Burns
• Catheters (indwelling venous infusion catheters)
• Chemotherapy
• Congestive heart failure
• Drug abuse (intravenous IV drugs)
• Drug-induced lupus anticoagulant
• DVT in the past
• Estrogen replacements (high dose only)
• Fibrinogen abnormality
• Fractures
• Hemolytic anemias
• Heparin-associated thrombocytopenia
• Homocysteinemia
• Homocystinuria

Myocardial infarction Obesity Old age Oral
contraceptives PE in the past Phenothiazines
Plasminogen abnormality Plasminogen activator
abnormality Polycythemia Postoperative
Postpartum period Pregnancy Protein C
deficiency Protein S deficiency Resistance to
activated protein C Systemic lupus erythematosus
Thrombocytosis Trauma Ulcerative colitis
Varicose veins Venography Venous pacemakers
Venous stasis Warfarin (first few days of
therapy)