Nursing clinical practice guidelines to improve care for people undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions

Summary Aim The aim of this paper is to present a set of nursing clinical practice guidelines for individuals undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) together with a summary of the evidence to support these recommendations. Background Percutaneous coronary intervention is a common procedure requiring expert nursing care delivered within an interdisciplinary team. Although evidence-based medical practice guidelines exist, they include minimal information to guide nursing-specific care. Guidelines development The guidelines development process used a framework of the patient journey. Three steps leading up to this paper were undertaken: (1) a comprehensive literature review; (2) a consensus development workshop; and (3) a modified Delphi technique to refine the guideline recommendations. Summary Clinical practice guidelines to support interventional cardiology nursing care are limited. This paper represents an important contribution toward meeting this need. Implications for practice These guidelines, developed within a context of Australian and New Zealand nursing practice, provide an important foundation to enable benchmarking and ongoing developing clinical practice standards.