Wound Drains & LMWH (2 topics)

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Specializes in L&D, Nursery, and Post-Partum.

Hiya! I was just looking for some info on these two different topics.

Until I moved to my new hospital, I had never seen a wound drain in a c-section patient. Is this something that's rather common and was just uncommon in my area, or is this a fading practice. I've been looking up the research, and the research doesn't really seem to support them. Anyone have any interesting research to back their use?

Another practice I'm seeing, is that nearly everyone is placed on LMWH postnatally. For some, it's 1 week and others 6. Basically, having a baby makes you a risk, and you're on it. I've been looking up the evidence on this as well, and I think it's over used at my facility, but just curious what others are doing and if they have any more interesting research.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

The only time I've seen drains is in obese patients and/or dehiscence.

We only use Lovenox for risk factors - typically with morbidly obese patients and/or hx of coagulopathy of some sort. Or patients with certain conditions like Factor V Leiden or MTHFR.

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Specializes in L&D.

Yes I have seen them used in obese patients. At my former teaching hospital, we would put a JP drain in, and it really would help with our obese patients to reduce infections...at least where I was at.

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