Abstract
Background: Breathing discomfort is one of the worst experienced symptoms by the mechanically ventilated patients in ICUs Aim: to evaluate the effect of implemented nursing care on breathing discomfort and weaning outcomes for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. Design: A quasi-experimental research design. Setting: General intensive care unit at Assuit university hospital. Patients and methods: Convenient sample of 80 patients(40 patients for study group and 40 patient for control group) who were mechanically ventilated for >24 hrs. Breathing discomfort was evaluated according to patient conscious level and nursing care was done for study group and routine care for control group. Tools : Four tools were used for data collection in the study; Patient assessment, breathing discomfort evaluation: Part I :Respiratory distress observation scale(RDOS) and Part II: Dyspnea Visual Analogue Scale(D-VAS), Patient outcomes assessment and nursing intervention tool Results: High statistical significant difference between study group and control group in relation to arterial blood gases and haemodynamic parameters after intervention. Concerning weaning outcomes; 57% of control group experienced weaning failure versus 35% in study group Conclusion: Implementing nursing care among the mechanically ventilated patients were effective in improving patient outcomes. Recommendations: Apply nursing care for breathing discomfort as a routine care in ICUs.