Fatigue in Patients with Heart Failure: A Study of Diagnostic Accuracy Fatigue in Patients with Heart Failure.

PURPOSE:To analyze the accuracy of defining characteristics of the NANDA International nursing diagnosis, fatigue (00093), in patients with heart failure.METHODS:A cross-sectional study on the diagnostic accuracy of the defining characteristics of the nursing diagnosis. The sample consisted of 96 patients with heart failure in treatment in a public hospital. The latent class analysis method was used to test the accuracy measurements and estimate the prevalence of the diagnosis. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.RESULTS:The prevalence of the fatigue nursing diagnosis was 42.54%. Increased physical symptoms (0.9988) and tiredness (0.9988) were the sensitive defining characteristics. Disinterested in surroundings (0.9999) was the specific defining characteristics.CONCLUSIONS:A set of three defining characteristics of the nursing diagnosis of fatigue was accurate in patients with heart failure. Thus, this set can be used by nurses to confirm nursing diagnosis fatigue in patients with heart failure.IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE:This research contributes by providing accurate defining characteristics of fatigue in patients with heart failure. Thus, nurses should recognize the nursing diagnosis of fatigue in patients with heart failure through accurate defining characteristics and propose rapid and effective nursing interventions that have positive health results.