Objective: To identify in the literature the defining characteristics and related factors of the nursing diagnosis "ineffective breathing pattern".
Method: Integrative review with the steps: problem identification, literature search, evaluation and analysis of data and presentation of results.
Results: Twenty articles and two dissertations were included. In children, the most prevalent related factor was bronchial secretion, followed by hyperventilation. The main defining characteristics were dyspnea, tachypnea, cough, use of accessory muscles to breathe, orthopnea and adventitious breath sounds. Bronchial secretion, cough and adventitious breath sounds are not included in the NANDA-International (NANDA-I). For adults and older adults, the related factors were fatigue, pain and obesity and the defining characteristics were dyspnea, orthopnea and tachypnea.
Conclusion: This diagnosis manifests differently according to the patients' age group. It was observed that some defining characteristics and related factors are not included in the NANDA-I. Their inclusion can improve this nursing diagnosis.