Practices of the ABCDEF care bundle in intensive care units as reported by nurses: A cross-sectional study from...

Recent critical care guidelines recommended the evidence-based ABCDEF care bundle for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, limited information is available on the implementation of the bundle in Turkish ICUs.

To assess the current practices of the ABCDEF care bundle as reported by ICU nurses.

A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted. Researchers invited nurses with at least 1 year of ICU experience to participate by sending the link to the research questionnaires they created in Google Forms to the one ICU nurse association and one communication group of which they are members.

A total of 342 ICU nurses completed the survey. Although 92% of the participants performed pain assessments in their ICUs, 52.7% reported not using protocols. Based on the responses of the nurses, spontaneous awakening and breathing trials are performed in 88.8% and 92.4%, respectively, of ICUs. Fewer than half of the participants reported following a sedation protocol in their ICUs. Only 54.7% of ICU nurses surveyed reported routinely monitoring patients for delirium. It was reported that early mobilization was practised in 68.7% of ICUs, but non-ventilated patients were mobilized more frequently (70.2%), and 9.7% of ICUs had mobilization teams. Family members were actively involved in 95% of ICUs; however, 9.7% used dedicated staff to support families and 3.5% reported that their unit was open 24 h/day for visits.

While the implementation of most pain and sedation evaluations in ICUs were reported by nurses, many of them did not use structured delirium assessments. There is a need to encourage early mobilization programs and family participation.

Health institutions can improve patient care and outcomes by establishing and standardizing a protocol for each component of the ABCDEF care bundle in ICUs.