NANDA-I diagnoses in perioperative care: an integrative review

This integrative review aimed to identify the most frequently used NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in perioperative care to support their inclusion in structured perioperative care pathways. A systematic search of MEDLINE and CINAHL databases was conducted, and eight studies meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Diagnoses were extracted and categorized according to perioperative phases (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) and NANDA-I domains and classes. The intraoperative phase showed the highest concentration of nursing diagnoses, reflecting the critical role of nurses in patient safety and monitoring during surgery. The most recurrent diagnoses belonged to the Safety and Protection domain, including Risk for infection, Risk for aspiration, Impaired tissue integrity, and Risk for perioperative positioning injury. Other relevant diagnoses involved respiratory function, pain management, hypothermia, anxiety, and deficient knowledge. The findings highlight the central role of NANDA-I diagnoses in guiding clinical reasoning and intervention planning in perioperative nursing. Integrating standardized nursing diagnoses into perioperative care pathways may enhance patient safety, interdisciplinary communication, and the quality of nursing documentation, while strengthening the application of the nursing process in clinical practice.