Nurse Anesthetists’ Perceptions and Experiences of Managing Emergence Delirium: A Qualitative Study

Authors

Yi Xin
Fu-Cai Lin
Chen Huang
Bin He
Ya-Ling Yan
Shuo Wang
Guang-Ming Zhang
Rui Li

Publication Date

4-19-2024

Journal

World Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study employs a descriptive phenomenological approach to investigate the challenges anesthesia nurses face in managing emergence delirium (ED), a common and complex postoperative complication in the post-anesthesia care unit. The role of nurses in managing ED is critical, yet research on their understanding and management strategies for ED is lacking.

AIM: To investigate anesthetic nurses' cognition and management experiences of ED in hopes of developing a standardized management protocol.

METHODS: This study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach from qualitative research methodologies. Purposeful sampling was utilized to select 12 anesthetic nurses from a tertiary hospital in Shanghai as research subjects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were organized and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method, from which the final themes were extracted.

RESULTS: After analyzing the interview content, four main themes and eight subthemes were distilled: Inefficient cognition hinders the identification of ED (conceptual ambiguity, empirical identification), managing diversity and challenges (patient-centered safe care, low level of medical-nursing collaboration), work responsibilities and pressure coexist (heavy work responsibilities, occupational risks and stress), demand for high-quality management (expecting the construction of predictive assessment tools and prevention strategies, and pursuing standardized management processes to enhance management effectiveness).

CONCLUSION: Nursing managers should prioritize the needs and suggestions of nurses in order to enhance their nursing capabilities and provide guidance for standardized management processes.

Keywords

Anesthetic nurse, Emergence delirium, Postoperative complications, Cognition, Disease management, Qualitative research

Comments

PMID: 38659604