title: Patient stress in intensive care: comparison between a coronary care unit and a general postoperative unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate and compare stressors identified by patients of a coronary intensive care unit with those perceived by patients of a general postoperative intensive care unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted in the coronary intensive care and general postoperative intensive care units of a private hospital. In total, 60 patients participated in the study, 30 in each intensive care unit. The stressor scale was used in the intensive care units to identify the stressors. The mean score of each item of the scale was calculated followed by the total stress score. The differences between groups were considered significant when p < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean ages of patients were 55.63 ± 13.58 years in the coronary intensive care unit and 53.60 ± 17.47 years in the general postoperative intensive care unit. For patients in the coronary intensive care unit, the main stressors were "being in pain", "being unable to fulfill family roles" and "being bored". For patients in the general postoperative intensive care unit, the main stressors were "being in pain", "being unable to fulfill family roles" and "not being able to communicate". The mean total stress scores were 104.20 ± 30.95 in the coronary intensive care unit and 116.66 ± 23.72 (p = 0.085) in the general postoperative intensive care unit. When each stressor was compared separately, significant differences were noted only between three items. "Having nurses constantly doing things around your bed" was more stressful to the patients in the general postoperative intensive care unit than to those in the coronary intensive care unit (p = 0.013). Conversely, "hearing unfamiliar sounds and noises" and "hearing people talk about you" were the most stressful items for the patients in the coronary intensive care unit (p = 0.046 and 0.005, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The perception of major stressors and the total stress score were similar between patients in the coronary intensive care and general postoperative intensive care units.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Vera Cruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Douglas de Sá
authors.initials: Dde S
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Centro Terapêutico Master Fisio, Betim, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Mariane Vanessa
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Betim, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gisele do Carmo Leite Machado
authors.initials: Gdo C
authors.lastname: Diniz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003325:Coronary Care Units; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*