The purpose of this study was to identify nursing diagnosis of patients in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery. One instrument was elaborated and validated for data collection. Such instrument was organized according to Horta's Conceptual Model. Seventeen adult patients in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery were evaluated, of whom 09 were males and 08 were females with the average of 58 years old. After data collection, the nursing diagnoses were identified based on NANDA's Taxonomy I. The nursing diagnoses identified with a higher frequency than 50% were: Activity Intolerance (88.2%), Infection risk (76.5%), Risk for peripheral neurovascular dysfunction (76.5%), Knowledge deficit (on the disease, surgery and anesthesia) (76.5%), Altered cardiopulmonary tissue perfusion (70.6%), Ineffective airway pattern (70.6%); Pain (70.6%), Altered Sexual Patterns (58.8%) and Sleep Pattern Disturbance (52.9%). It was observed a predominance of diagnoses related to physiological needs.
Nursing diagnosis; Thoracic surgery; Preoperative care
