Intensive Care Nurses’ Practice of Endotracheal Suctioning at General Teaching Hospitals in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Khalid Ibrahim Mohammed Saber, Sara Jawad Kadhim, Ronak Hassan Muhammad BarwariAbstract
Background:
Endotracheal suctioning (ETS) refers to life-saving techniques provided to patients who are critically ill and rely on mechanical ventilation to meet this basic need for breathing.
Objectives:
We aimed to evaluate critical care nurses’ practices regarding the ETS procedure at the time of daily care in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Materials and Methods:
This descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted among 60 nurses who worked in ICUs in general public hospitals in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The data were obtained by using an observational checklist that was ticked for nurses’ ETS practice at three time points: before suctioning, during, and post-suctioning practice.
Results:
This study revealed that half of the participants in the age group of 26–30 years were college graduates. They had 4–6 years of working experience in the ICU. The highest percentage of samples considers hyperventilation in their care, instillation of saline, and putting a patient in a suitable position before suction. Most nurses wore masks and were prone as an infection control measure. During ETS, the majority of nurses chose the appropriate diameter for the aspiration catheter. High percentages of nurses monitored the patient’s vital signs and responses to suctioning. There was a highly significant association between years of working experience and auscultation of breath sounds before ETS, with a
Conclusion:
Nurses practice the vital aspects or measures during suctioning, and they were good at having heightened awareness related to numerous instructions of ETS procedures.