The purpose of this study is to identify the nursing actions prescribed by the nurses at Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia (IDPC) towards patients under the nursing diagnosis of ineffective airway clearence and compare them with the ones found in the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC), whose aim is the improvement of nursing prescription for this diagnosis. This is a retrospective study, whose data source has included 435 patients' cards hospitalized from July to December 2000, analysed after the Ethics Committee on Research at IDPC. The prescribed nursing actions are following: to perform inhalation, stimulate de ambulation, to seat the patient on an armchair, stimulate cough, stimulate hydrical intake, aspirate endotracheal cannule, observe the respiratory pattern and oxygen saturation, as well as the cyanosis of the limbs, and perform pulmonary auscultation. Some convergences along with NIC have been found, such as: to facilitate the secretion remotion by means of hydratation, the patient mobilization, stimulation to the cough, secretion aspiration and control/monitorization of the respiratory condition. The actions prescribed by the nurses are regarded to be of concern, however, detailing is in lack for the purpose of improving the guidance of their performance.
Nursing diagnosis; Nursing care; Postoperative care; Vascular patency
