The Clinical Nursing Pathway Plus Low-flow Oxygen Breathing Effects on Blood Glucose and Urine Ketones in Diabetic Ketoacidosis Patients.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess the effects of the clinical nursing pathway (CNP) on blood glucose and urine ketones in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Methods: A total of 60 patients with DKA (20 type I and 40 type II) treated in the Department of Endocrinology at Anhui Second People's Hospital from January 2018 to May 2022 were recruited and randomly assigned to receive routine nursing (control group) or CNP plus routine nursing (observation group), with 30 patients in each group. The observation group received the clinical nursing pathway (CNP) along with routine nursing care. As part of the CNP, low-flow oxygen therapy was administered to the patients. Low-flow oxygen therapy involves the delivery of oxygen at a lower flow rate compared to high-flow oxygen therapy. In this study, a flow rate of 2 L/min was used. The low-flow oxygen was administered to the patients through a nasal cannula or a similar device. Outcome measures included symptom relief and length of hospital stay. Results: The observation group showed a significantly higher decline rate of blood glucose in patients than in the control group. Patients in the observation group had a more rapid disappearance of urine ketones versus those in the control group. CNP plus routine nursing resulted in a significantly shorter length of hospital stay versus routine nursing (RR0.79, 95% CI (1.078, 4.511), P < .05). Conclusion: CNP plus continuous low-flow oxygen breathing facilitates the decline of blood glucose, removes ketone bodies, mitigates DKA symptoms, and shortens the length of hospital stay.