Acuracy of clinical indicators of nursing diagnosis constipation in oncological pacients in antineoplastic chemotherapy
Nursing Diagnosis. Oncology. Constipation. Chemotherapy.
Nursing diagnosis constipation is prevalent in cancer patients and may decrease their quality of life. The inference of nursing diagnoses, through sensitive and specific clinical indicators, allows rapid and effective interventions to obtain results for which the nurse is responsible. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the accuracy of the clinical indicators of the nursing diagnosis constipation in cancer patients on antineoplastic chemotherapy. Diagnostic accuracy study, of the transversal type, developed at the chemotherapy outpatient clinic of the Norteriograndense Hospital League against Cancer. The population was composed of patients undergoing antineoplastic therapy attended at the outpatient clinic of said hospital. The sample was 240 individuals. The data collection took place from February to September 2018, through a form containing questions related to sociodemographic, clinical data and diagnosis indicators. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the institution responsible, under the number of opinion: 2,417,240. The results showed that the majority of the interviewees were female, with a mean of 55.62 years, with a partner, practicing some religion, coming from the capital and retired or pensioners. Regarding the nursing diagnosis constipation, its prevalence was 86.6%. The sensitive clinical indicators of the diagnosis were: effort to evacuate, hypoactive bowel sounds. The specific clinical indicators were: headache, abdominal pain, pain when evacuating, exertion when evacuating and liquid stools. Thus, it is concluded that constipation is a prevalent nursing diagnosis in cancer patients on antineoplastic chemotherapy. Also, there are clinical indicators that accurately predict their occurrence in this clientele. Thus, nursing interventions should be directed to this diagnosis, in order to prevent side effects, promote support and contribute positively to the quality of life of patients submitted to antineoplastic chemotherapy.