Eye care in mechanically ventilated critically ill adults-nursing practice analysis

Abstract

Introduction. Eye care is among basic nursing interventions in critically ill patients, but often neglected due to an ongoing focus on life threatening conditions in this group of patients. At the time being, there are no national guidelines for eye care in critically ill patients in Serbia. Aim of the study was to evident nurses? knowledge, attitudes and everyday clinical practice toward eye care in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. Material and Methods. The study was prospective, observative and cross sectional. Nurses working in intensive care units were interviewed. Study instrument was self administered questionnaire - ?Eye care clinical competence in ICU inventory - ECC?. This questionnaire showed good reliability with Cronbah Alfa 0.83. Descriptive and inferental statistical analysis was conducted in data analysis, with statistical significance of p<0.05. Results. Total average score of knowledge, attitude and everyday practice test point out that further improvement in the quality of eye care is needed in mechanically ventilated patients. There is a strong positive correlation between attitudes and practices in eye care - the more positive attitudes lead to more quality practices. Conclusion. According to our study results, nurses generally think that eye care in mechanically ventilated patient is important, but a general awareness about practices of care and prevention of iatrogenic eye conditions could be improved.

Nurses’ Knowledge based on Evidence Based Practice toward Eye Care for Intensive Care Units Patients

“…The prospective study investigates the effect of body position on intraocular pressure (IOP), confirmed the prone position record highest pressure among both, investigated and healthy groups [7] . Although, there are many studies in the world focused on eye care in intensive care units, in Iraq the information on this subject is inadequate [1,2,8,9,12,14] . In Iraq also, literatures published about eye screening and care in many types of eye disease in public, there is no study yet, assess nurses' knowledge based on evidencebased practice toward eye care in ICUs [10] .…”

Effectiveness of lubratex and vitamin A on ocular surface disorders in ICU patients: A randomized clinical trial

“…Eye care is a significant aspect of the caring process of critically ill patients 1 but often neglected due to continuous focus on the life-threatening situations in this group of patients. 2 In the intensive care unit (ICU), the eyes of patients are exposed to complications such as dry eye, incomplete eyelid closure, conjunctival edema, and defects in the integrity of the cornea. 3,4 Ocular surface disorders (OSDs) affect 23-60% of ICU patients.…”