The Study Of Understanding And Strategy For The Patient's Comfort Degree Of Mechanical Ventilation

Objective: To assess the comfort degree of mechanically ventilated patients, to evaluate the understanding of doctors and nurses on the comfort degree of mechanically ventilated patients and to study the medical and nursing strategies to improve the comfort degree of mechanically ventilated patients.Methods: According to Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) and a self-made questionnaire, 37 doctors, 50 nurses and 43 mechanically ventilated patients were investigated from Mar. 2005 to Apr. 2006．Related data were collected including the general demography information of the investigated objects, the understanding of the comfort degree of mechanical ventilation and the related influential factors. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square Test, T-test or ANOVA and Multiple logistic regression were performed by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 13．0．Results: 1．The mean scores of the understanding of doctors, nurses and patients on the comfort degree were respectively 6．240±1．211, 6．560±1．431 and 4．910±1．525 among which the scores of doctors and nurses were higher. There was no statistical significance between doctors and nurses, while it was statistically significant between patients and doctors or nurses.2．The mean scores of the understanding of doctors, nurses and patients on the related influential factors were: 51．351±8．613, 66．160±10．769 and 51．25±12．255．Moreover, that of the nurses was the highest. There were significant differences between nurses and doctors or patients, but it was not significant between doctors and patients.3．In physiological factors, there were significant differences in such six aspects as tracheal intubation, communication disorder, non-synchronization between breathing machines and patients, dry mouth and hydrodipsia, physical constraint and limitation of motion. In psychological factors, it was statistically significant in dread and anxiety. And in social factors, the scores of surrounding environment, lacking of the family support and lacking of the medical members'support were statistically significant.4．According to the Multiple linear regression, it was indicated that the severer discomfort in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation was caused by the following nine factors: communication disorder, sleeping disturbance, sputum suction, non-synchronization between breathing machines and patients, dry mouth and hydrodipsia, physical constraint, unknowning about the pathogenetic conditions, dread and lacking of the medical members'support.Conclusions: In the mechanical ventilation, the patients were discomfort. The understanding of doctors, nurses and patients on the comfort degree and the related influential factors of mechanical ventilation was incongruent. The influential factors were mainly dry mouth and hydrodipsia, non-synchronization between breathing machines and patients, unknowning about the pathogenetic conditions, dread, sputum suction, sleeping disturbance, communication disorder, physical constraint and lacking of the medical members'support. Therefore, medical members should focus on the medical treatment and nursing care of the comfort of mechanically ventilated patients. The comfort degree of patients should be evaluated correctly and the influential factors be grasped exactly in order to improve the quality of life of mechanically ventilated patients.