Accuracy of the clinical indicators of the nursing diagnosis of fatigue in patients with heart failure
Nursing Diagnosis. Fatigue. Heart Failure. Cardiology. Nursing.
Accurate clinical indicators are important for nursing care and teaching. The identification of these components occurs through studies of diagnostic accuracy. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the accuracy of the clinical indicators of nursing diagnosis Fatigue in patients with heart failure. This is a cross-sectional, diagnostic accuracy study. The sample consisted of 96 patients in attendance at the University Hospital Onofre Lopes, selected for convenience, consecutively. The instrument of data collection was a form, containing questions related to sociodemographic, clinical aspects and diagnostic indicators. In addition, to support the data collection, a protocol was used with the conceptual and operational definitions of the clinical indicators. The research was approved by the ethics committee in research of the unit responsible, under number 2,517,527 and Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Appreciation: 80923217.7.0000.5537. The results showed that the majority of the clientele investigated were male, brown, with companion, from the interior of the state, practicing a religion, with incomplete elementary school and retired or benefited. The mean age was 57.78 years. The most prevalent clinical indicators were: Impaired ability to maintain habitual level of physical activity, Increased physical symptoms, Increased need for rest, Impaired ability to maintain habitual routines, Insufficient energy, Non-restorative sleep pattern, Introspection, and Tiredness. There was statistical association of the nursing diagnosis investigated with the variables gender and jugular engorgement. The most sensitive clinical indicators were: Increased physical symptoms and Tiredness. And the one of greater specificity was: Disinterest in the environment that surrounds it. The diagnostic study was present in 42.54% of patients with heart failure. Thus, it is concluded that the Fatigue diagnosis presents accurate clinical indicators in the clientele with heart failure. Furthermore, it is expected that, from the identification of these accurate clinical indicators, the diagnostic inference of the nurse will be facilitated in clinical practice.