[Becca_RN]

What is your defination?

[ok8733]

frank bleeding to me is a pt in the pacu who is a fresh post-op and whose dressing is soaked with blood from a wound not sutured properly,or a saoked v-pad that you have to change frequently..I don,t mean serosanginous blood which is mixed with irrigant during a case like in an arthroscopy.

[Grace Oz]

Frank blood= fresh/true/red blood, as opposed to occult / dark / brown / black / old, blood.

[nowplayingEDRN]

Frank blood is bright red in color and usually indicative that the doctor may need to take the patient back into the OR and find the bleeder and tie it off as opposed to serosanginous or dark, occult blood.

[Becca_RN]

That was my interpretation too just wanted to verify. Thanks for the input.

[RNLisa]

What happens if you have a patient who is about 3 hours post op for a perforated bowel repair with exp. lap and hernia repair; and his dressing had been dry/intact the whole time, but is now suddenly saturated with bright red blood?

[emtb2rn]

Originally Posted by RNLisa

What happens if you have a patient who is about 3 hours post op for a perforated bowel repair with exp. lap and hernia repair; and his dressing had been dry/intact the whole time, but is now suddenly saturated with bright red blood?

I'd say something ripped loose. Lower HOB, cover bloody dressing with abd pads and/or 4x's plus some pressure, give high flow O2, call doc, continue to assess for shock. I'm still a student (2nd semester of 5), but that's what I'm thinking....