Nursing Care of the Intubated Patient - A Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND: Nursing care of the mechanically ventilated patient is specific, individualised care and requires a great deal of knowledge and expertise on the part of the nurse, who must use professional judgement to make nursing diagnoses that describe actual and potential health complications and conditions related to the patient's health. AIM: The purpose of this thesis is to study endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation and the most common complications that arise during their performance. The aim is to present the role of the nurse in assisting the performance of endotracheal intubation and the nursing care of the intubated patient. METHODS: The literature review was conducted in the international databases Cochraine Library, Pub Med, Cinahl, Google Scholar and Cobbis. The inclusion criteria for the search were original and peer-reviewed scientific articles published between 2020 and 2024 and available in full text. 10 articles were included in the analysis. The literature review process is presented using the PRISMA diagram, where we used 3 databases RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the analysis and are detailed in the table below. Based on the thematic analysis, we identified four content categories: ventilator-associated pneumonia, pressure injury, individual patient plan and staff education. CONCLUSION: The care of the mechanically ventilated patient must be individualised and thus tailored to each individual, and healthcare staff must have a great deal of knowledge and experience in order to provide quality care. Compared to abroad, we need to focus more on educating staff on the new guidelines and on the care of the mechanically ventilated patient.