The determination of the knowledge of the intensive care unit nurses about the central venous catheter follow-up

Central venous catheters (CVCs) arean interventional methods which are commonly used especially in intensive care units (ICU). The complications occurring due to central venous catheters increase the patients'duration of hospital stay, costs, and mortality and morbidity rates. Nurses are primarily responsible for central venous catheter care since the proper care provided by the nurses can decrease the complication rate occurring due to catheters. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge level of the intensive care unit nurses about the central venous catheter care and follow-up. The data of this descriptive study were gathered between 1 November2012 and 13 December 2012. Of the 102 nurses working in the intensive care unit, 68 nurses volunteer for participating in this study were enrolled as participants. The data were collected through interviewing the ICU nurses via data collection form including questions about demographic characteristics and central venous catheter care and follow-up by therese archer. Fourteen questions regarding central venous catheter care and follow-up were evaluated by giving one point for each. The data were analyse dusing one-wayANOVA, percentage and mean with SPSS 15.0for Windows. It was found that 36.8% of the intensive care nurses participated in the current study were between the age range of 26 to 33 years, 45.6% of them were the Vocational high school graduates, 55.9% of them were working in intensive care unitless than one year. Mean score of nurses' level of knowledge related to CVC care and follow-upwas 6.81.Among the questions regarding CVC care and follow-up, nurses gave correct answers mostly to the ones related to the need of not sending particulate liquid from CVC and leaving the one lumen of the CVC multi-lumen for parenteral nutrition while they knew that the aim of CVC care is "to prevent catheter infection" and "to evaluate volume of bodily fluids". According to the findings of the study, it was revealed that most of the nurses' levelsof knowledge related to care and follow-up for preventing CVC complications were not sufficient. A reliable and right operation of CVC requires appropriate theoretical knowledge and experience. It is thought that it will be useful firstly to give information related to catheter care in the institutions providing nursing education, and then to arrange in-service training programmes about CVC and to show its practical applications for nurses in small groups in the institutions offering health service.