Influence of neurological severity and degree of dependence of patients after stroke on nursing workload: a retrospective cohort

Abstract

Objective: To verify the influence of neurological severity and the degree of dependence of patients after stroke on the nursing workload required during hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Method: Retrospective cohort of post-stroke patients admitted between 2019-2022 to a private ICU in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Neurological severity was measured through the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the level of dependency through the Katz Index, and the nursing workload through the Nursing Activities Score (NAS). Information from the 98 patients was collected from electronic medical records and the mixed effects model was applied in the analyses. Results: In a sample of older people (76.1 ± 14.8 years) and consisting predominantly of men (62.4%), it was observed that neurological severity (p < 0.001) and the degree of dependence (p = 0.002) independently predict NAS values, without any relation to the time at which this variable was measured (admission, average day of hospitalization, or discharge from the ICU). Conclusion: Neurological severity and degree of dependence influence the nursing workload required by post-stroke patients in the ICU and should be considered when determining the size of the team.