RESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study is to analyze the accuracy of the defining characteristics of ineffective airway clearance (IAC) in patients after thoracic and upper abdominal surgery. BACKGROUND: Although numerous studies have described the most prevalent respiratory NANDA-I diagnoses, only few investigates the precision of nursing assessments. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 192 patients in a surgical clinic. Accuracy measures were obtained by the latent class analysis method. RESULTS: IAC was present in 46.73% of the sample. The defining characteristics with better predictive capacity were changes in respiratory rate and changes in respiratory rhythm. However, other defining characteristics also had high specificity, such as restlessness, cyanosis, excessive sputum, wide-eyed, orthopnea, adventitious breathing sounds, ineffective cough, and difficulty vocalizing. CONCLUSION: Results can contribute to the improvement of nursing assessments by providing information about the key clinical indicators of IAC.