Effects of Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis on the Prevention of Deep Venous Thrombosis in Elderly Patients Undergoing Femoral Fracture Surgery

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of healthcare failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) on the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in elderly patients undergoing femoral fracture surgery. Methods: Eighty elderly patients undergoing femoral fracture surgery who did not apply FMEA in Suzhou BenQ Medical Center from June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023 were selected as the control group. According to the equal group experiment method, 80 elderly patients who were managed using FMEA from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024 were selected as the FMEA group. The control group received traditional nursing management, while the FMEA group applied FMEA to analyze failure causes, calculate Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs), identify failure modes with higher RPNs, analyze the influencing factors, develop improvement measures, and optimize processes. The RPN values and the incidence of DVT, as well as nursing satisfaction scores, were compared in the two groups. Results: Compared with the control group, the total RPN values of the FEMA group decreased significantly, with a reduction rate of 87.0%. Besides, the incidence of DVT was 1.3% in the FMEA group, lower than 10.0% in the control group (8/80). What’s more, the patients in the FMEA group were more satisfied with the nursing service compared with the patients in the control group. Conclusion: The application of the FMEA in elderly patients undergoing femoral fracture surgery has demonstrated its potential to prevent the incidence of DVT, lower RPN values, and improve nursing satisfaction.