Evaluation of skills of intensive care nurses regarding central venous catheter care: An observational study

Objective: Central venous access is a common procedure performed in many clinical settings for a variety of indications. Yet, there are multiple complications related to central venous catheter use. Significant morbidity and mortality can result from complications related to central venous catheters. Therefore, safety and effectiveness of central venous catheter care by nurses is crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intensive care nursing skills associated with central venous catheter care. Materials and Methods: This observational study was conducted with 37 volunteer nurses who were employed in adult intensive care units of three hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 111 observations were collected by using the Nurses' Descriptive Characteristics Form and the Intensive Care Nurses' Central Venous Catheter Care Skills Observation Checklist. Results: The average age of the nurses was 33.2 +/- 5.9 years. The study showed that 93.7% nurses had performed the hand hygiene before starting the central venous catheter care but seldom after the procedure. Sterile gloves were not used by majority of the nurses during the care. They almost never disinfected the catheter hub, and they did not adequately obey the rules after completing the care procedure. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that nurses had inadequate skills of central venous catheter care. We recommend that nurses' skills must be enriched with professional theoretical and practical trainings.