THE SEVERITY OF PATIENTS’ CONDITIONS AND THE NURSING WORKLOAD IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

This quantitative and prospective study, undertaken in July – November 2012 with a total of 183 hospitalizations, aimed to measure the severity of the condition of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit, and to quantify the nursing workload through the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System. For statistical analysis, the absolute and relative frequencies were calculated and organized in tables and graphs. The severity of the patients’ illnesses by class: 47.54% were class II: 20 to 34 points on the TISS-28. The categories of therapeutic interventions with 100% were: Basic activities and ventilatory support. The mean of the TISS-28 measurements resulted in 24.1 points, requiring a workload of 12.8 hours. The mean of the daily TISS-28 score was 232 points, requiring 123 hours of nursing care, while the nursing team in the period produced 120 hours of work per day. The study identified the most frequent categories and interventions, thus supporting care planning.

Keywords

• Intensive care
• Sverity of the patient's condition
• Workload