Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an interventional procedure used to diagnose and treat chronic coronary artery disease. The recommended period of bed rest following a PCI is reported by Rolley et al. (2011) as being 2-4 hours (h). According to evidence-based guidelines in relevant literature, however, the bed rest was reported from 2-24 h; in these instances the supine position (SP) was used, which leads to movement limitation.
Among the patient-care goals during the post-procedural period, sustaining tissue perfusion and heart and vascular system operation, regulating vital signs, reducing pain, and supporting movement are important. According to such a procedure, the nurse's independent role is to provide the safest position for the patient, thereby positively affecting vital signs after PCI and reducing vascular complications and back pain.
Recently, similar nursing studies have reported the effect of position change after PCI on back pain, as well as vascular complications after PCI, the effect of position change on certain vital signs and vascular complications, the effect of position change regarding pain, patient comfort and certain vital signs, and the effect of positional change on intervention pain and all vital signs. Some studies have also looked into the effect of positional changes on back pain, certain vital signs, and vascular complication.
Prolonged bed rest in a SP has become tradition, but it can have negative effects. Comprehensive studies in the existing literature that can be applied to the post-PCI nursing care process-and which study the effect of the most reliable positional change on all vital signs, vascular complications, and, back pain-display a numerical inadequacy. Consequently, the authors intend the current study to be an experimental investigation of the effect of position change on vital signs, vascular complications, and back pain.
