Knowledge of Nursing and Medical Professionals about the Indication of Intravenous Catheters in Adult Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Introduction: Intravenous devices are fundamental in the management of hospitalized patients, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs), where they are essential for the administration of medications, parenteral nutrition, and hemodynamic monitoring. However, the inappropriate use of these devices can result in severe infections, prolonging the duration of hospitalization and considerably increasing hospital costs. Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of nurses and physicians regarding the correct indication of intravenous catheters in adult intensive care units. Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted with a sample of nurses and on-call physicians from the intensive care units of a charitable hospital in Recife, PE. Data collection was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, called the "baseline," a situational diagnosis was performed using a pre-existing database on venous catheter management. In the second phase, a questionnaire containing five clinical cases was administered, in which each professional chose the most appropriate intravenous catheter for each situation. Results and Discussion: The results indicated that the level of knowledge regarding technical and practical issues was higher among nurses than among physicians in the studied population. The average correct response rate among the participating physicians was 58% for appropriate indications, while that of the nurses was 71.25%. Conclusions: It is concluded that nurses demonstrated superior knowledge compared to physicians regarding the indication of intravenous catheters in intensive care units.

Keywords: Catheters; Intravenous Infusions; Critical Care Nursing.