Development of eye care protocol for intensive care patients and evaluation of its effectiveness

The study was conducted to develop an eye care protocol for intensive care unit patients and to evaluate its effectiveness. The sample of the randomized controlled study consisted of 56 patients, 28 experimental and 28 control, who were hospitalized in the anaesthesia intensive care unit of a training and research hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Health in Istanbul and met the inclusion criteria. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows 22.0 program. In the first step of the study, expert opinion was obtained for the protocol created by reviewing the literature. In the second stage of the study, nurses were trained on eye complications in intensive care. In the third stage of the study, the eye care protocol, which was created by taking expert opinion, was used as a data collection form. Patients in the experimental and control groups were followed up for seven days. Patients in the experimental group received eye care following the eye care protocol, while patients in the control group received care according to routine clinical eye care practices. In terms of signs and symptoms of infection, it was found that the patients in the experimental group had a lower infection rate than the control group. The difference between the groups in terms of secretion on the fourth day was statistically significant (p<0.05). The difference between the groups in terms of crusting on the edge of the lid on the third, fourth and fifth days was statistically significant (p<0.05). The difference between the groups in terms of eyelash adhesion on the third and fourth day was statistically significant (p<0.05). The frequency of conjunctival oedema was less in the experimental group than in the control group. There was a significant difference in conjunctival oedema in the right eye on the fourth day (p<0.05). In conclusion, it is recommended that intensive care nurses should use evidence-based eye care practices, take measures to protect the eye from infections in invasive mechanical ventilator support, during the aspiration process in sedated patients, and conduct more clinical research for the prevention of ocular infection signs and symptoms and eye complications in the intensive care unit.