Nursing interventions for the early detection of ward patients’ clinical deterioration: an integrative review

Abstract

Background: Clinical deterioration is sometimes mis-handled in hospital wards resulting in increased like-lihood of cardiorespiratory arrest, unplanned intensive care admissions, and death. Objectives: To identify nursing interventions aimed at the early detection of the clinical deterioration of ward patients. Methodology: Integrative literature review through the search for published and gray literature in CINAHL, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect databases. Results: A total of 534 documents were identified, of which 11 were selected for data extraction and analysis. Conclusion: The monitoring of vital signs, either indi-vidually or in combination or to obtain an early warning score, is the most widely performed nursing intervention identified in the literature.