 Hospitalized patients are at increased risk for the development of blood clots in the legs, known as deep venous thrombosis DVT. Surgical patients are in a higher risk category than the general hospital population due to a number of factors including undergoing surgery and increased risk of immobility. The highest risk patients are in the surgical intensive care unit, where their surgical risks for blood clots are combined with issues such as sepsis, acquired blood clotting disorders, and increasing age, each of which are factors that contribute to the risk of blood clot development. 1. Patients who develop these blood clots DVTs are at risk for chronic leg swelling, pain, and in some cases, chronic ulcer development on the leg. In the worst case scenario, these blood clots can break away and migrate to the lungs where they cause a pulmonary embolism PE, a clot in the lungs that can cause significant breathing difficulty requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, and in some cases, death. 