The pre-operative visit consists in the first phase in the systematization of perioperative nursing care. This study aimed at identifying, during the pre-operative visit and more frequently, a nursing diagnosis of clients submitted to general surgery. The selected theoretical framework was Levine's conceptual model based on the four conservation principles, which are: energy conservation, structural integrity conservation, personal integrity conservation and social integrity conservation. In order to reach the proposed objective, an instrument was previously elaborated and validated for data collection. The sample consisted of 30 patients, males and females, who had been submitted to general surgery. The nursing diagnosis Infection Risk obtained 100% of frequency during the pre-operative visits to surgery patients. As to related factors that were identified, we point out: the site of invasion by organisms after the surgery and invasive procedures. Thus, the identification of this diagnosis can help nurses with the planning and implementation of preventive and infection control care, especially if risk factors are identified in the pre-operative period.
perioperative nursing; infection; nursing diagnosis
