Related factors of the nursing diagnosis ineffective breathing pattern in an intensive care unit.

This was a single-center cross-sectional study, so it describes associations at one time point and cannot prove that fatigue, age, or disease group caused ineffective breathing pattern. Only conscious and oriented patients able to cooperate with manovacuometry were included, and patients with hemodynamic instability or neuromuscular disease were excluded, so the findings may not apply to sedated, intubated, or unstable ICU patients. The diagnosis was operationalized by the researchers using three or more defining characteristics plus a maximal inspiratory pressure cutoff, not by a standard clinical diagnosis alone. Some variables were not previously validated, and several NANDA-I associated conditions and the decreased vital capacity characteristic were not evaluated because of the inclusion criteria or lack of equipment. Data were collected by one main investigator, which may introduce assessment bias.

Do not conclude that treating fatigue or listening for reduced lung sounds has been shown to improve breathing. This study only describes associations and diagnostic accuracy in ICU patients who could cooperate with breathing pressure testing.