title: Nursing diagnoses and interventions in the care of elderly patients undergoing surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine nursing diagnoses and interventions in the care plans of elderly patients undergoing surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted with the files of 129 elderly patients undergoing surgery in a university hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using a questionnaire and nursing care plans. Frequency and percentage calculations were used to evaluate the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of hospitalized patients was 72.8 ± 5.8 years; 28.7% of patients were hospitalized at a general surgery clinic and 51.9% were male. Nurses had been using 14 nursing diagnoses and 171 different nursing interventions while planning their care of elderly patients undergoing surgery. The most frequently used nursing diagnoses were falling risk, infection and hypertension.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses use limited diagnoses and standard interventions to plan the care of elderly surgical patients.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Nursing , Hacettepe University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Zahide
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tuncbilek
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Nursing , Hacettepe University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Sevilay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Senol Celik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000451:nursing*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey
keywords: elderly; nursing care plan; nursing diagnoses; nursing interventions; surgery