Nursing diagnosis in planning the hospital discharge of prostatectomized patients: a preliminary study

Abstract

Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia are described as important problems among men. Surgical procedure is one option of treatment, accomplished according to the stage of the disease and the presence of some complications. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the nursing diagnoses in prostatectomized patients with a view to support the elaboration of health care plans for hospital discharge. Data regarding eight patients submitted to prostatectomy were collected from August to November from 2006. For the diagnosis, the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA-I) Taxonomy II was used. The diagnoses identified in all patients were: knowledge deficit (regarding postoperative care and care with the urethral catheter), risk for fluid volume deficit, risk for injury, risk for infection, impaired tissue integrity. Less frequent diagnoses identified were: anxiety, risk for situational low self-esteem, potential for enhanced spiritual well-being, impaired physical mobility, delayed surgical recovery, risk for powerlessness, and risk for impaired skin integrity. The obtained diagnoses allowed for a detailed description of the patients’ conditions. Moreover, the diagnoses contributed to perform an individualized approach, to identify important needs for the discharge, and so, could offer an adequate basis to design health care plans.