THE PERSON UNDERGOING URGENT/EMERGENT SURGERY IN THE CONTEXT OF AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: THE PREVENTION OF ADVERSE EVENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Emerging surgical interventions correspond to unpredictable situations that require immediate attention, as they are life threatening. Patients in intensive care units (ICU) sometimes have to undergo urgent/emergent surgery due to complications and/or worsening of their condition. Due to the inherent complexity of the perioperative period and the critical condition of patients, they are more vulnerable to the occurrence of adverse events (AE).

Objective: To contribute to the prevention of AE in the perioperative period of the person in a critical situation in an ICU in need of urgent/emergent surgery.

Material and Method: Diagnostic and intervention study on the perioperative preparation of the person hospitalized in an ICU of a Level III Hospital. Data were collected through a questionnaire. We ensure voluntary participation, the right to refuse and guarantee privacy and confidentiality. The intervention consisted of training and the design of an Algorithm proposal for nurses to act in a critical situation requiring urgent/emergent surgery.

Result: We obtained 40 responses to the questionnaire. All nurses had already witnessed an AE during the perioperative period, with life-threatening severity, most of which were preventable. The urgent/emerging scenario was considered the factor that most contributed to the occurrence of AE, as well as communication failures and the absence of an organization method.

Conclusion: We showed that patient safety is a duty of all health professionals, in which the nurse has a key role in preventing the occurrence of AE, planning and implementing personalized and individualized nursing care in the perioperative period.