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BACKGROUND: The proficiency of nursing professionals in the infection prevention and control (IPC) practices is a core component of the strategy to mitigate the challenge of healthcare associated infections. AIM: To test knowledge of nurses working in intensive care units (ICU) in South Asia and Middle East countries on IPC practices. METHODS: An online self-assessment questionnaire based on various aspects of IPC practices was conducted among nurses over three weeks. RESULTS: A total of 1333 nurses from 13 countries completed the survey. The average score was 72.8% and 36% of nurses were proficient (mean score > 80%). 43% and 68.3% of respondents were from government and teaching hospitals, respectively. 79.2% of respondents worked in < 25 bedded ICUs and 46.5% in closed ICUs. Statistically, a significant association was found between the knowledge and expertise of nurses, the country's per-capita income, type of hospitals, accreditation and teaching status of hospitals and type of ICUs. Working in high- and upper-middle-income countries (ß = 4.89, 95%CI: 3.55 to 6.22) was positively associated, and the teaching status of the hospital (ß = -4.58, 95%CI: -6.81 to -2.36) was negatively associated with the knowledge score among respondents. CONCLUSION: There is considerable variation in knowledge among nurses working in ICU. Factors like income status of countries, public vs private and teaching status of hospitals and experience are independently associated with nurses' knowledge of IPC practices.
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OBJECTIVES: To describe the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted with 124 SCD patients diagnosed with PE or suspected PE admitted to the ICU of Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Bahrain between May 2017 and April 2018. A data collection form was used to obtain information on the history and demographics of PE patients. RESULTS: A total of 124 patients diagnosed with SCD were admitted to the ICU during the study period. Male patients slightly outnumbered (n=75; 56.4%) female patients, and the average age was in the mid- thirties (mean=37.4 years). The main diagnosis leading to ICU admission was vaso-occlusive crisis. The average hemoglobin level was 8.6 mg/dl, hemoglobin S% was 55.8%, and the length of stay in the ICU was 5.3 days. A total of 5 patients were diagnosed with PE with an incidence rate of 3.8%. All PE patients were females, which resulted in a significant relationship between gender and the likelihood of developing PE. No statistical relationship existed between the likelihood of developing PE and patient age, hemoglobin, hemoglobin S%, length of stay in ICU, and mortality. CONCLUSION: The demographic characteristics of the population included a male predominance, age in the mid-thirties, and vaso-occlusive crisis diagnosis upon admission to the ICU. The incidence of PE was significantly related to female gender. No significant relationship existed between the likelihood of developing PE and age, hemoglobin, hemoglobin S%, length of ICU stay, or mortality.