title: Ineffective airway clearance in adult patients after thoracic and upper abdominal surgery.
abstract: The aim of this study is to analyze the accuracy of the defining characteristics of ineffective airway clearance (IAC) in patients after thoracic and upper abdominal surgery.
  
  
  
  Although numerous studies have described the most prevalent respiratory NANDA-I diagnoses, only few investigates the precision of nursing assessments.
  
  
  
  A cross-sectional study was conducted with 192 patients in a surgical clinic. Accuracy measures were obtained by the latent class analysis method.
  
  
  
  IAC was present in 46.73% of the sample. The defining characteristics with better predictive capacity were changes in respiratory rate and changes in respiratory rhythm. However, other defining characteristics also had high specificity, such as restlessness, cyanosis, excessive sputum, wide-eyed, orthopnea, adventitious breathing sounds, ineffective cough, and difficulty vocalizing.
  
  
  
  Results can contribute to the improvement of nursing assessments by providing information about the key clinical indicators of IAC.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Maranhão, Imperatriz, Maranhão 65900-000, Brazil. Electronic address: livia_mp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Lívia Maia
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pascoal
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Maranhão, Imperatriz, Maranhão 65900-000, Brazil. Electronic address: jessik_kline@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jéssica Pereira Alves
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States,. Electronic address: vanessaemille@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vanessa Emille Carvalho
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Maranhão, Imperatriz, Maranhão 65900-000, Brazil. Electronic address: franciscodimitre@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Francisco Dimitre Rodrigo Pereira
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Maranhão, Imperatriz, Maranhão 65900-000, Brazil. Electronic address: pedrolima_fisio@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Pedro Martins
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lima Neto
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Maranhão, Imperatriz, Maranhão 65900-000, Brazil. Electronic address: sflnunes@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Simony Fabíola Lopes
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará 60430-160, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Venícios de Oliveira
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D058109:Airway Management; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures
keywords: Nursing assessment; Nursing diagnosis; Postoperative care; Respiratory system