Nursing Diagnosis List & Reference
Each diagnosis below is written in plain clinical language with its related factors, defining characteristics, goals, and interventions — everything you need to slot it into a care plan.
Write it as: [Diagnosis] related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]. Pick the diagnosis your assessment supports.
Activity Intolerance
Insufficient physical or psychological energy to complete required or desired daily activities.
Acute Pain
A recent, expected-to-be-short experience of unpleasant sensory and emotional discomfort from actual or…
Anxiety
A vague, uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread in response to a perceived threat.
Constipation
Decreased frequency or difficult passage of hard, dry stool.
Decreased Cardiac Output
Inadequate blood pumped by the heart to meet the body's metabolic demands.
Deficient Fluid Volume
Decreased circulating fluid volume from loss exceeding intake.
Deficient Knowledge
Absence or deficiency of information needed to manage a health condition.
Excess Fluid Volume
Increased fluid retention and overload.
Hyperthermia
Core body temperature above the normal range due to a failure of thermoregulation.
Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
Intake of nutrients insufficient to meet metabolic needs.
Impaired Gas Exchange
Excess or deficit in oxygenation and/or carbon-dioxide elimination at the alveolar-capillary membrane.
Impaired Skin Integrity
Altered epidermis and/or dermis — damaged or destroyed skin tissue.
Ineffective Airway Clearance
Inability to clear secretions or obstructions from the respiratory tract to maintain a clear airway.
Ineffective Tissue Perfusion
Reduced oxygen delivery to tissues at the capillary level.
Risk for Falls
Increased susceptibility to falling that may cause physical harm.
Risk for Infection
Increased vulnerability to invasion by pathogens due to compromised defenses.
Risk for Self-Directed Harm
Susceptibility to intentionally self-inflicted, life-threatening injury.
Risk for Unstable Blood Glucose
Susceptibility to variation in blood glucose outside normal range.