Ineffective Airway Clearance in Surgical Patients: Evaluation of Nursing Interventions and Outcomes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the benefits of NIC interventions in postoperative patients with ineffective airway clearance (00031). METHODS: Quasi-experimental study with interrupted time-series design. A total of 101 patients were evaluated during 4 days based on the nursing outcome Respiratory Status: Airway Patency (0410). FINDINGS: Interventions such as cough enhancement (3250), ventilation assistance (3390), and airway management (3140) contributed to significative improvements of the patients' airway patency. Site of surgery and patients' intrinsic characteristics were proven to have influence in the NOC ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions implemented during the research contributed to improvement of clinical indicators of airway patency. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Postoperative respiratory complications can be minimized by the use of standardized nursing languages.

Impaired Gas Exchange: Prognostic Clinical Indicators of Short-Term Survival in Children with Acute Respiratory Infection.

PURPOSE: To establish prognostic indicators of survival for impaired gas exchange (IGE) (00030). METHODS: Secondary analysis of data from an open prospective cohort developed with a group of 136 children with acute respiratory infection (ARI). FINDINGS: On Day 1, IGE (00030) was present in 42.6% of the sample. New cases arose until the last day of evaluation. With regards to defining characteristics, only hypoxemia and abnormal skin color were associated with a higher risk of developing diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Children with ARI who exhibit hypoxemia and abnormal skin color had a worse prognosis for IGE (00030). IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE PRACTICE: Nurses can use the research findings as a predictive marker of the evolution of the patient's health status.