Construção do checklist para eletrocirurgia: tecnologia para o cuidado de enfermagem

Abstract

Introduction: Electrosurgery is a technological resource that uses high frequency electrical current to achieve therapeutic effects during the surgical procedure. The electrical circuit consists of the patient and the active electrode (electric scalpel) and the return electrode (electrodispersive plate). In the monopolar system, the patient is part of the electrical circuit, since when using the electric scalpel to perform the surgical technique, his body acts as a conductor of the electric current. Thus, the electrodispersive plate is considered the main and indispensable element when using the monopolar electric scalpel, and if it is positioned incorrectly, absent or in an inadequate size, it can cause irreversible damage to the surgical patient. Considering that it is the responsibility of the nursing team to avoid the concentration and the incorrect dispersion of the electric current, its objective is: to build a checklist (checklist) that is part of the nursing care plan, assisting actions aimed at the use electrosurgical plate. Methodology: it is a methodological study developed in two stages: identification of the necessary requirements, through an integrative review, to support the nursing process (nursing care) in patients undergoing surgical procedures using the electrosurgical unit. And the development of a checklist composed of nursing care with the electrosurgical plate during the use of the monopolar electric scalpel supported by the scientific evidence and the experience of the researchers in the surgical environment. Results: From the integrative review, 24 studies on nursing care in relation to the use of electrosurgery were identified. However, there was an absence of studies that contain an in-depth and exclusive approach regarding safe practices in the use of the electrodispersive plate. The checklist was organized into two safety categories, the first with items for rapid patient identification and the second consisting of 23 check requirements regarding the actions to be verified during intraoperative nursing care for patients using the electrosurgical plate. Conclusion: This checklist aims to assist nurses in the systematization and standardization of nursing care provided during the intraoperative period, favoring adherence to good practices during the use of the electrosurgical unit, especially the dispersive plate.