Abstract
BACKGROUND: Programmed comprehensive nursing was adopted for intensive care unit (ICU) children following severe cardiac surgery to improve respiratory function and delirium incidence. AIM: To explore how programmed comprehensive nursing impacts respiratory function and delirium incidence in ICU children post cardiac surgery. METHODS: Between January 2022 and January 2024, 180 pediatric patients from the Children's Hospital of Nanjing were admitted to the ICU after cardiac surgery and randomly grouped. The control group comprised 90 patients and received routine nursing care. The observation group comprised 90 patients and received programmed comprehensive nursing. Both groups received continuous nursing care until discharge. Their respiratory function, incidence of delirium, and clinical outcomes were compared. The memory state and sleep quality of both groups were compared. RESULTS: The incidence of delirium was 5.56% in the observation group when admitted to ICU, which was lower than that in the control group (20.00%; P < 0.05). The observation group demonstrated higher peak expiratory flow rate, respiratory frequency, deep breathing volume, and tidal volume in the ICU compared with the control group. Additionally, the observation group showed higher sleep depth, sleep latency, night awakening, return to sleep, and sleep quality compared with the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Programmed comprehensive nursing in ICU patients following severe cardiac surgery can reduce the impact on respiratory function, improve sleep quality, and alleviate postoperative delirium, showing significant promise for clinical application.