Liver transplant patients: their experience in the intensive care unit. A phenomenological study.

Background: The nurses' knowledge of patients' experiences contributes to gaining a deeper understanding of their health process, which will help to provide a better foundation for nursing care. The patients' experiences in the intensive care unit are singular; liver transplant patients constitute a specific group, because generally their admission to the intensive care unit marks the first step towards recovery of their health after a process in which they have lived in fear because their illness was reaching a more or less terminal stage.

Aim: To describe the liver transplant patient's experience in the intensive care unit.