Determination of the knowledge levels of the doctors and nurses working in the intensive care unit on the prevention of central venous catheter-related blood circulation infections

Healthcare-associated infections are infections with high morbidity and mortality, increasing the length of hospital stay and increasing treatment costs. It is seen that the rate of infection is higher in intensive care units compared to other units due to the high risk of complications and the high number of invasive procedures. Ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-related urinary tract infections, catheter-related bloodstream infections are the most common healthcare-associated infections in intensive care units. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge of doctors and nurses working in intensive care units about the prevention of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections. This descriptive study was conducted in the intensive care units of a research and practice hospital between January 15 and May 30, 2021. "Data collection form regarding the introductory characteristics of the participants" and "Knowledge level questionnaire for preventing central venous catheter-related infections" were used to collect the data. Number, percentage and mean±standard deviation (mean±s) were used as descriptive statistics in the evaluation of the data. A total of 170 healthcare professionals, including 89 nurses and 81 doctors, were included in the study. 76.5% of the participants are women and 52.9% are nurses. 65.3% of the nurses and 93.5% of the doctors received training on central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections. He stated that he had read an article about the infection associated with the service. In the study, the mean score of knowledge about preventing central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections was determined as 5.43±1.90 out of 10. The knowledge score of the doctors was found to be significantly higher than that of the nurses (p<0.05). A significant relationship was found between knowledge score and age, educational status, professional years and working years in intensive care (p<0.05). As a result of the study, it is seen that the knowledge score of the doctors and nurses is lower than expected. For this reason, it is recommended to provide continuous training to healthcare professionals on the prevention of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections.