Nursing diagnoses in adults and elderlies in the preoperative period: a comparative study

OBJECTIVE: Analyze the nursing diagnoses of NANDA-I Taxonomy in hospitalized adults and elderlies in preoperative of general surgery and proctology. METHOD: cross-sectional study, exploratory, quantitative approach, developed in the general surgery ward, between March and August, 2017. Inferential statistical analysis performed using Chi-square and Fisher test, considering p-value <0.05 and 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Of 51 participants, 32 (62.7%) were adults and 19 (37.3%) elderlies. In adults prevailed anxiety (81.3%), fear (50%), risk for infection (43.8%), and risk for delayed surgical recovery (37.5%). In elderlies, anxiety (68.4%), risk for infection (63.2%), impaired comfort (57.9), and risk for delayed surgical recovery (52.6%) prevailed. Anxiety was significant in adults (p=0.028); impaired dentition (p=0.001), and impaired comfort (p = 0.008) in elderlies. CONCLUSION: specificities of pre-surgical care rarely identified were evidenced, especially related to risk for infection and risk for delayed surgical recovery.