Introduction

Most of nursing diagnoses for potential organ donors is related to physiological changes. These patients often have all diagnoses cited for this population. However, NANDA International does not have a diagnosis to address this acute condition.

Objective

To identify possible defining characteristics for the diagnosis of impaired physiological equilibrium syndrome for brain death patients and for potential organ donors in the literature.

Method

Integrative literature review including articles published between 1997 and 2017 in the databases Web of Science, LILACS and PubMed.

Results

The sample consisted of 37 articles identifying 44 possible defining characteristics for the nursing diagnosis to be developed. The defining characteristics were divided into five major groups of changes: endocrine-metabolic changes, hemodynamic and/or cardiovascular changes, ventilatory changes, nutritional changes, coagulation changes, inflammatory and/ or immune changes.

Conclusions

Developing this diagnosis can collaborate to the taxonomy of NANDA International, as well as to extend the nursing knowledge of the area of maintenance of the potential organ donor, contributing to teaching and research. The practical use of this diagnosis purpose can provide a better systematization of care, enabling the proper maintenance of the potential organ donor and consequently improving the viability of organs for transplantation.

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