J Nurs Acad Soc.  1995 Mar;25(1):124-140.

A Study on Perceived Discomfort in Patients Following Cardiac Catheterization

• Lee EJ

Abstract

Cardiac cathererization has become a routine diagnostic procedure indicated for evaluation of a wide varity of cardiac conditions. Patients are admitted to the coronary care unit after cardiac catheterization. These conscious patients report feeling uncomfortable in the CCU, but no studies have been done on the effects of bed rest, sand bags on the femoral puncture site and restricted mobility for 4 to 12 hours or longer postprocedure. The main objective of this thesis is to provide basic data to nursing on interventions which decrease the uncomfortableness experienced by patients in the CCU following cardiac catheterization. In this phenomenological study, the various discomforts felt by the patients were collected and classified. The study subjects were a convenience sample of 29 patients who were admitted to the CCU of a general hospital in Inchon following cardiac catheterization. They were conscious, so they were able to communicate without difficulty. The data were collected over an 86 days period from July 21, to October 14, 1994. The subjects were interviewed using unstructured open questions and the interviews were tape recorded with the patient's permission. The data were analyzed using the Van Kaams phenomenological method. Reliability and validity were examined by two professor of nursing science, one head nurse, one staff nurse and one cardiologist. The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1. The 129 descriptive statements by the postcardiac catheterization patients of discomfort were organized into 19 themes. 2. The 19 themes were divided into 3 categories; physical, psychological, and environmental aspects. 3. The problems concerning the physical aspect were the discomfort of restriction of movement, dysuria, medical devices, pain in the puncture site, symptom is related to the procedure of cardiac catheterization, headache and dizziness, leg pain and tingling sensation, and chest pain. The problems concerning the psychological aspect were regret resulting from dependency, economic burden, dissatisfaction with medical personnel, dissatisfaction with medical service system, anxiety about the result of the procedure, concern about the prognosis, loneliness, and concern over treatment procedure. The problems concerning the environmental aspect were influence from neighboring patients, noise, and maladaptation to environmental change. The necessity for holistic care which satisfies physical, psychological, and environmental need must be emphasized in order to solve these discomforts.

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Bed Rest
Cardiac Catheterization*
Cardiac Catheters*
Catheterization
Catheters
Chest Pain
Coronary Care Units
Dizziness
Dysuria
Headache
Hospitals, General
Humans
Incheon
Leg
Loneliness
Noise
Nursing
Nursing, Supervisory
Prognosis
Punctures
Reproducibility of Results
Sensation
Silicon Dioxide
Silicon Dioxide