Knowledge and practice towards care and maintenance of peripheral intravenous cannula among nurses in Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal.

AIM: The study is mainly concerned about the care and maintenance of peripheral intravenous cannulation: to determine the knowledge and practice of nurses towards care and maintenance of IV cannula and to find out the obstacles encountered in caring and maintaining IV cannula. Intravenous cannulation is a common procedure performed by nurses in every hospital and closely associated with the risk of nosocomial infections if standard care is not provided. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was carried out. METHODS: Nurses' knowledge and practice towards care and maintenance of peripheral intravenous cannula were assessed using a validated semi-structured self-administered questionnaire through the census method. Data were analysed through SPSS program. The comparison was done between knowledge and practice. RESULTS: The findings revealed that 84.72% respondents were doing correct practices despite the fact that only 82.47% respondents had proper knowledge. Most nurses have good knowledge of caring and maintaining peripheral intravenous cannulation but there were some without proper knowledge and practice. This could be a potential risk factor for patient safety.

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Role of Nurses in Its Prevention.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most frequent nosocomial infections among ventilated patients in ICUs, associated with an increase in days of ICU stay, morbidity, and mortality. Its prevention is a significant concern in every hospital. Most of the interventions and prevention strategies are part of routine nursing care. Nurses have different vital roles such as care provider, manager, educator, coordinator, and evaluator in preventing VAP. Lack of knowledge of infection prevention and proper nursing care among nurses may become a barrier in adhering to evidence-based guidelines for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. This study will help nurses to know about VAP and its prevention in detail so that they can apply the knowledge in clinical practice. Understanding pathophysiology of VAP, its risk factors, and care bundle is vital for the proper prevention and treatment of VAP. There must be specific protocols, strategies and active surveillance in every ICU regarding the care bundle.