Nursing diagnoses identified in records of hospitalized elderly

To identify nursing diagnoses (ND) formulated for elderly patients in a quaternary healthcare institution.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted based on information contained in the records of 112 elderly patients, admitted from January to July 2011, in a public teaching hospital of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Brazil).

53% of patients were female and were 70 years or older. The most common diseases that led to hospitalization were cardiac (31%), neoplasms (22%), lung (10%) and vascular diseases (10%). Only 44% of the patients had a ND identified. After exclusion of repetitions, 36 different diagnosis labels were identified. The primary ND were: risk for infection (78%), impaired physical mobility (69%), risk for impaired skin integrity (59%), risk for falls (57%), imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements (57%), risk for unstable blood glucose (51%) and self-care deficit (51%).

In this study, the ND were linked to human responses related to the causes of hospitalization. These diagnoses are the basis for planning nursing interventions and provide improved quality of life, independence and preservation of functionality for these people.