Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Objective Nociceptive Assessment in Ventilated ICU Patients: A Feasibility Study Using Pupillometry and the Nociceptive Flexion Reflex
Published on: July 4, 2018
Patient severity as an indicator of nursing workload in the intensive care unit
Panagiotis Kiekkas1, Hero Brokalaki, Evangelos Manolis
1Anesthesiology Department, General University Hospital of Patras, Greece. kiekpan@pat.forthnet.gr
Abstract:
The importance of measuring nursing workload in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been supported by both an increasing demand for nursing personnel and the relationship of nursing workload with patient safety. According to previous studies, the correlation between clinical severity of ICU patients and nursing workload measured by Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System has been estimated to be particularly high. The aim of this study was to investigate whether clinical severity of ICU patients can be used for the prediction of nursing workload on a daily basis. All patients admitted in the ICU of the General University Hospital of Patras for a 5-month period were enrolled in the study. Projet de Recherche en Nursing (PRN) Réa and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores of patients were calculated, the first on a daily basis and the second on the day of admission. Simple linear regression was used for statistical analysis of data. One hundred thirty-eight patients were studied. A progressive increase in mean daily PRN Réa of patients all along the amplitude of APACHE II values was shown. APACHE II could predict 25.6% (p < 0.01) of the daily variability of PRN Réa of patients. Regarding categories of PRN Réa, respiration, communication, diagnostic methods and treatments were significantly predicted by APACHE II. APACHE II explained higher proportions of PRN Réa in medical male patients aged >60 years. Clinical severity of the ICU patients measured by APACHE II is an important early indicator of daily nursing workload, especially of care demands associated with respiration, diagnostic methods and treatments.
More Related Videos
09:44Manual Muscle Testing: A Method of Measuring Extremity Muscle Strength Applied to Critically Ill Patients
Published on: April 12, 2011
10:38Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Heart Failure VII: Nursing Interventions
Nursing Interventions II: Selecting and Classifying the Nursing Interventions
Nursing Assessment
The nurse collects all aspects of the patient's health in the initial assessment, establishing priorities for ongoing focused assessments and...
Planning Nursing Care I
Nursing Diagnosis
The nursing diagnosis focuses on evidence-based...
Mitral Stenosis IV: Nursing Management