Objective To explore the effect of targeted nursing in the care of patients with acute mastitis during lactation. Methods Sixty patients with acute mastitis during lactation admitted to a hospital in Zhengzhou from January 2019 to December 2020 were selected for the study

and were divided into a control group and an observation group using the random number table method

with 30 cases in each group. Patients in the control group received homogenized conventional nursing interventions

while patients in the observation group were given targeted nursing interventions based on the results of the psychological status survey. The psychological status of patients with acute mastitis during lactation before the intervention was descriptively analyzed

and the psychological status of patients in the two groups [self-rating anxiety scale（SAS）

self-rating depression scale（SDS）]were compared before and 1 month after the intervention. Result ndicators including the willingness to breastfeed

breastfeeding behavior

lactation termination and the occurrence of complications（nipple injury

nipple cracking

etc.） during lactation were compared between the two groups. Results Before the intervention

the negative emotional characteristics of patients with acute mastitis during lactation were mainly anxiety

worry

and depression

and the causes of negative emotions from highest to lowest were difficulty adapting to the treatment state

milk accumulation

lack of understanding of the disease

family indifference

breast/nipple pain

fear of the nipple and breast defects

and fatigue. Among them

the difficulty in adapting to the treatment state constituted a much higher ratio than the psychological emotions arising from other causes. Before the intervention

there was no statistically significant difference between the SAS and SDS scores of the 2 groups（P>0.05）; after the intervention

the SAS and SDS scores of the 2 groups were lower than before the intervention

and the observation group was lower than the control group

with statistically significant differences（P<0.05）. The complication rate and lactation termination rate of patients in the observation group were lower than those in the control group

and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）

while willingness to breastfeed and breastfeeding behavior were higher than those in the control group

and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）. Conclusion The implementation of targeted nursing interventions based on the current psychological situations of patients with acute mastitis during lactation can significantly improve patients’ negative emotions and willingness to breastfeed

and the risk of complications is also lowered

which suggest that it can be promoted in clinical practice.