Nurses Knowledge And Practices Regarding Care Of Patients with Chest Tube In Intensive Care Unit At Private Hospitals
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Abstract
Background: Chest tube care is a critical component of intensive care nursing because inadequate monitoring, poor aseptic handling, drainage-system malfunction, or delayed recognition of complications can compromise patient safety. ICU nurses require structured knowledge and practical readiness to maintain tube patency, document drainage, identify air leaks or blockage, prevent infection, and escalate complications promptly. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effect of a structured educational intervention on nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding the care of patients with chest tubes in intensive care units of private hospitals. Methods: A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test study was conducted among 30 ICU nurses working in private hospital settings in Lahore, Pakistan. Participants were assessed before and after an educational intervention using a structured questionnaire and practice checklist covering chest tube indications, drainage-system function, aseptic technique, complication recognition, dislodgement management, documentation, infection monitoring, and evidence-based care. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic and item-level responses and paired-samples analysis compared overall pre- and post-intervention scores. Results: Most participants were aged 26–30 years (43.3%), female (53.3%), staff nurses (60.0%), and working in general ICU settings (60.0%). Post-intervention positive responses improved across most domains, with 100.0% positive responses for dislodgement management, drainage-system function, infection-site checking, removal readiness, senior support, policy support, and guideline use. The largest improvements occurred in in-service training and senior support, each increasing by 36.7 percentage points. Overall paired scores improved significantly after the intervention. Conclusion: Structured chest tube care education was associated with improved ICU nurses’ knowledge and practice readiness. Regular competency-based training may strengthen safe chest tube care in private ICU settings
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