The effect of training on patients for deep ven thrombosis development before knee prosthesis

Patient-education is a significant process during which patients can get information regarding their own medical conditions and treatment processes. The objective of this study is to find out the impact of the preoperative education of the patients, who had a knee replacement surgery in the orthopaedic department of the university, on the postoperative DVT development. In the study, 60 patients who had a knee replacement surgery were included. The patients were divided to control and experimental groups. Training manuals were given to the patients in the experimental group twenty-four hours before the surgery. Only fundamental care in clinical practice were given to the patients in the control group. There was not a face-to-face training. Questionnaires prepared for the patients were conducted. Socio-Demographic Data Collection Form were filled out, and Knowledge and Behaviour Form for Preventing DVT was used. These two forms were prepared by considering the literature about our research. It was found out that the level of the postoperative knowledge of the patients in the experimental group was significantly more meaningful than that of the preoperative knowledge of the patients in the control group (p<0.05). %85 of those patients who had a knee replacement surgery was female, while %15 of them was male . %93.3 of the patients in the experimental group responded yes to the question "Does this surgery result in DVT?". %70 of the patients in the control group responded yes to this question. The difference between them was statistically significant (p<0.05). It was also found out that there was no significant difference between the responses to the question "Would you walk if you had rash, temperature increase and swelling simultaneously?" (p>0.05). All of the patients in the experimental group responded yes to the question "Would you put on your DVT compression stockings as soon as you get up in the mornings", whereas only %70 of the patients in the control group responded yes to this question. The difference between the responses was significant (p<0.05). It can, in this regard, be pointed out that the process of patient-education planned and implemented through 'DVT patient-education manual/guide' had a positive impact on the postoperative healing process and that the preoperative level of knowledge and behaviour about DVT in the experimental group was better and statistically more meaningful compared to that of the patients in the control group. It can also be suggested that those patients who had a face-to-face training through educational materials in the experimental group was better and had statistically more meaningful values compared to those patients who only had routine clinical service. Key Words: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), Patient-Education