Nursing diagnoses and interventions for patients with congestive heart failure in an intensive care unit: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To identify in the scientific literature about nursing diagnoses and interventions related to patients with congestive heart failure. Methods: This is an integrative literature review. Results: According to the 15 articles resulting from the search, the literature pointed to 9 diagnoses and 11 interventions. Most studies presented nursing diagnoses and interventions related to cardiopulmonary system impairment, resulting from the complications of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) commonly found in adult and elderly patients based on the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP). Final Considerations: The nursing diagnoses most found in the literature were dyspnea, impaired gas exchange, lower limb edema, impaired cardiac function, fatigue, impaired cardiac output, pain, risk of infection and risk of falling. In parallel, the interventions used are aimed at preserving the stability of target organs, such as the heart and lungs. The results are current and of good quality, found in important health databases and representative of the state of the art on the subject.