Pateint education activity for DIC

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Hello Everybody!

I am wrapping up my last semester of nursing school, and I have a presentation coming up on DIC. As a creative twist to add to our inevitably tedious power point presentation, I want to include a hands-on activity for our classmates to illustrate DIC, similar to demonstration or activity the nurse may perform with the patient when teaching them about DIC. I vaguely remember reading about a DIC activity (in first semester) that involves a tube and some toothpick or other material that helps to demonstrates the coagulation cascade and small vessel clotting....I obviously can't really recall the demo, but that's the idea I am chasing. I have looked in my textbook(s), googled, visited other nursing sites, but no luck. So, do any of you out there have any creative suggestions? Or activities/demonstrations that you have used to teach patients about DIC? Thank you in advance for any suggestions--I greatly appreciate your time :)

--Chelsea

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Honestly? Patient education goes something like this at most: "There are blood clots in the small vessels, all over the body; so many clots that the clotting factors and platelets are being used up. So we have widespread clotting and bleeding." DIC is a huge emergency--one of those things that you never ever ever want to see. There is NO time for hands-on learning, demonstrations, activities, or teach-back.

Now for your class purposes, I think it's a great idea. I'm not familiar with the demo you describe, but here's what I thought of: make a tree-like structure w/ straws. These are the small vessels. Get a bottle of non-pareils (the tiny round sprinkles available in any Wal Mart's baking section)--those are the blood cells. A small tube of Super Glue--this is the clotting factors and platelets. Make some little paper funnels at the ends of the straws, and poke some tiny holes in the straws to squirt your clotting factors into. Pour the non-pareils into the blood vessels; they become clots as they get stuck in the Super Glue. Pretty soon, your tube will be empty, and nothing left to stem blood flow. At the same time, you can now see all the clots and how that is going to cut off perfusion.

Or instead of the straws, maybe carve branchlike shapes into a piece of wood or some rolled-out clay? That would probably be easier. Tilt it to make the "blood" flow downhill.

Now I haven't tried this myself, so it might work or might not.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Thank you for bringing this topic up. I don't think I've had a pt with The diagnosis of DIC in the ED. I know the general info about it such as its a complication from a from a primary condition (infection, recent surg, blood incompatility). Symptoms include profuse bleeding which may not able to control and it's an emergent situation.

I do have couple of lab question about DIC.

Im assuming the D-dimer would be elevated d/t increase clotting. Would the clotting factors be unusually high as well? Would the platelets be low?

Are there any trending blood values to indicate a person is going to have DIC or will it not show anything until the pt currently has DIC?

Other than attempting to correct the cause of DIC. What other tx are used besides supportive blood products or holding site pressure to attempt to stop the bleeding if applicable? Anything like Vitamin K given ?

Sorry for all the questions and hijacking your thread.

I would be interested in reading your PP when you are finished. That is if you want me to and if you can keep your identity secret.

Thanks.

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Hi EmergencyRN22! All good questions, and I a still have most of the same questions you do, since I am still researching/learning about this topic. Feel free to 'hijack' the thread, the more info we all have the better!

Chelsea

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Wow Here.I.Stand! Thanks for the suggestion! I like how you use the glue as a clotting factor in your example--really cool. I am going to tool around with this idea and see how I can make it a table top demo for the class to complete at each table...I will let you know how it all turns out. Thanks for your time and creative ideas ;)

Chelsea

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