Anticipatory Nursing Care in Pulmonary Embolism and Its Impact on Treatment Adherence: A Randomised Controlled Trial

This study aimed to evaluate the application of anticipatory nursing care in pulmonary embolism (PE) and its impact on treatment adherence.

This was a randomised controlled trial. Seventy patients diagnosed with PE were randomly divided into two groups (n = 35 each). The control group received standard nursing care, while the observation group received anticipatory nursing care (this is proactive care that nurses provide by predicting and preparing for potential health issues or needs of patients before they arise). The outcomes compared between both groups included vital sign levels (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate), clinically relevant time parameters (time to thrombolytic therapy, length of hospital stay), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), treatment adherence, incidence of complications, quality of life (physical pain, physiological function, social function, mental health) and nursing care quality (nursing attitude, psychological support, management measures and technical skills).

After nursing, the observation group demonstrated lower blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure: 90.54 ± 4.22 vs. 93.66 ± 4.15 mmHg; systolic blood pressure: 129.00 ± 3.14 vs. 135.46 ± 4.02 mmHg), respiratory rate (18.54 ± 2.41 vs. 22.17 ± 2.48 breaths/min), and heart rate (88.20 ± 3.14 vs. 90.54 ± 3.14), shorter time to thrombolytic therapy (5.31 ± 1.10 vs. 5.86 ± 1.00 days) and length of hospital stay (11.20 ± 1.94 vs. 15.09 ± 2.05 days), lower SAS (40.89 ± 3.47 vs. 44.49 ± 4.18 points) and SDS (39.46 ± 3.45 vs. 34.86 ± 3.24 points) scores, higher treatment adherence (97.14% vs. 71.43%), and higher scores of quality of life (physical pain: 80.57 ± 4.16 vs. 77.14 ± 4.19 points; physiological function: 79.94 ± 5.22 vs. 76.83 ± 5.55 points; social function: 80.20 ± 5.37 vs. 75.54 ± 5.52 points; mental health: 77.69 ± 5.32 vs. 72.71 ± 5.47 points) and nursing care quality (nursing attitude: 81.37 ± 4.84 vs. 77.57 ± 5.20 points; psychological support: 74.95 ± 4.28 vs. 66.28 ± 4.46 points; management measures: 83.52 ± 3.20 vs. 75.49 ± 4.42 points; technical skills: 88.11 ± 3.13 vs. 79.65 ± 3.05 points) compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Anticipatory nursing care enhances treatment adherence and improves the quality of life in PE patients.