The knowledge and practises of nurses in the prevention of medical devices related injuries in intensive care - questionnaire survey

Aim: To analyse the knowledge and practises of nurses in the field of injuries related to medical devices in intensive care and standard units in the field of surgical and general medicine in a selected group of nurses. Patients and methods: The questionnaire survey was conducted in two districts and two university hospitals. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows version 21.0 at a significance level of 0.05. Results: A total of 246 general nurses (89 standard units, 159 intensive care units) were included in the survey. Nasogastric tube and tracheostomy tube, which were most commonly inspected at the standard ward, were considered the most hazardous medical devices. The nurses in the whole group evaluated subjectively their knowledge as good. The subjective evaluation of knowledge about the risks of injury was not statistically related to age or education (P > 0.05) but was related to the length of practice in intensive care units (P = 0.01). Differences were found in the frequency of skin inspection under the medical devices according to the type of workplace (P < 0.05). The skin under the oximeter and the blood pressure cuff were more frequently inspected by nurses at intensive care units. Conclusion: Knowledge in injury prevention under medical devices is inadequate and risks are underestimated. Intensive care nurses consider preventative measures to be more significant.