OBJECTIVE: Elaborating and applying a patient evaluation instrument in the immediate postoperative period (IPOP) after general anesthesia, based on the Advanced Trauma Life Support protocol. METHODS: An instrument was created, based on the Trauma ABCDE and applied in the post-anesthetic recovery room in all adult patients submitted to surgeries under the effect of general anesthesia, from September to November, 2007. RESULTS: 93.5% of the patients were observed to have pervious airways; however, 92.2% of them needed oxygen supplementation. There were alterations in pulmonary auscultation in 15.6% of the patients, hypotension in 16.9% and hypothermia in 23.4%. A statistically significant difference was also observed, suggesting that women have better recovery conditions than men. CONCLUSION: The physical exam in the sequence proposed by the Trauma ABCDE allowed for the identification of the main physiological alterations in the IPOP, contributing for nursing care.
Postoperative period; Nursing Care; Wounds and injuries