Alteration in level of responsiveness. A proposed nursing diagnosis

The use of physiologically derived nursing diagnoses is crucial in care delivery to the patient population at risk for secondary neurologic injury. Eliminating physiologic diagnoses has left the current taxonomic representation of nursing diagnoses inadequate for describing or quantifying care delivery to this patient population. The literature supports the premise that nursing care plays a large role in prevention and minimization of secondary brain injury. The proposed nursing diagnosis "alteration in level of responsiveness" recognizes the use of physiologic concepts and data and is an appropriate label to describe the nursing care provided to the patient at risk for secondary brain injury.