[The concept of "patient type": utility for the care of surgical patients]

To describe a model of surgical "patient type" by identifying the needs and characteristics of surgical patients.

We performed a cross-sectional study of surgical patients with one or more diseases and similar needs and/or characteristics admitted to the surgical wards of a general hospital over a 10-month period. The variables analyzed were sociodemographic and clinical data, degree of autonomy, and Virginia Henderson's needs, which were identified through an interview performed in the postoperative period. Univariate analysis, stratified descriptive statistics and multiple correspondence analysis were performed.

A total of 270 medium- or low-complexity patients from different surgical specialties took part in the analysis. During the surgical process (pre- and post-operative), almost a half of the patients suffered from hypotension, heart rate showed no significant changes and the risk of developing a pressure ulcer was unmodified according to Norton's scale. The first statistical analysis classified the surgical patients into five groups and showed the relationship between the degree of autonomy (measured through Barthel's index) and the number of personal problems (assessed according to the Henderson model). A subsequent statistical analysis classified the patients into four groups or types, explaining 70% of the total variance.

Through the use of Virginia Henderson's model, a surgical patient type composed of four different groups was identified. The results of this study may be useful in the care of low- and medium-complexity patients in distinct surgical specialties.