Purpose: Clinically validate (using Fehring's model) characteristics of the nursing diagnosis (ND) of decreased cardiac output (DCO) in 29 patients with decompensated heart failure.
Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in a Brazilian university hospital.
Findings: According to the reliability rate (R) between the experts, the major characteristics (R ≥ 0.80) were fatigue, dyspnea, edema, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, and elevated central venous pressure, and the secondary characteristics were weight gain, hepatomegaly, jugular vein distension, palpitations, crackles, oliguria, coughing, clammy skin, and skin color changes.
Conclusion: Characteristics with R > 0.50 and ≤1 were valid in the ND of DCO. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NURSING PRACTICE: Clinical validation studies are necessary to determine the adequacy of this diagnosis and its determining characteristics with Taxonomy II.
© 2010, The Authors. International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications © 2010, NANDA International.