Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to identify the predicting factors and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative related value of nursing diagnosis Ineffective Breathing Pattern among patients of an intensive care unit. METHOD: cross-sectional study. A logistic regression was fitted to assess the simultaneous effects of related factors. RESULTS: among the 120 patients, 67.5% presented Ineffective Breathing Pattern. In the univariate analysis, the related factors were: group of diseases, fatigue, obesity and presence of bronchial secretion, and the defining characteristics were: changes in respiratory depth, auscultation with adventitious sounds, dyspnea, reduced vesicular murmurs, tachypnea, cough and use of the accessory musculature to breathe. The mean age of patients with was higher than those without this diagnosis. The defining characteristics reduced murmurs had high sensitivity (92.6%), specificity (97.4%), negative related value (86.4%) and positive related value (98.7%). The related factors of Ineffective Breathing Pattern were the related factors fatigue, age and group of diseases. CONCLUSION: fatigue, age and patients with a group of diseases were related factors of Ineffective Breathing Pattern in this study. Reduced vesicular murmurs, auscultation with adventitious sounds and cough may be defining characteristics to be added in the international classification, as well as the related factors bronchial secretion and group of diseases.