Critical Care Nurses’ Knowledge of Sedation and Its Management in Mechanically Ventilated Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan

Background: Sedation assessment and management is an essential part of critical care nursing. The patients are at significant risks of undersedation and oversedation. Critical care nurses must possess sufficient knowledge about sedation assessment and its management. Aim: This study aimed to determine critical care nurses’ knowledge of sedation and its management in mechanically ventilated patients in Pakistan. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. The participants were recruited from three critical care units of a tertiary care hospital using a consecutive sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Findings: In total, 91 critical care nurses participated in this study. Most of them had less than 2 years of experience as registered nurses and as intensive care unit nurses. The majority of them had insufficient knowledge (poor knowledge 18.7% and fair knowledge 63.7%), whereas only 17.6% had good knowledge of sedation and its management. The average correct response rate for general knowledge of sedation management practices was 71.3%. Almost half of the participants (51.6%) had poor knowledge of assessing undersedation and oversedation. Overall, 67% of nurses had good knowledge of managing sedative drugs. Conclusion: The majority of critical nurses lacked sufficient knowledge related to sedation and its management in mechanically ventilated patients. This poses risks to patients’ safety and quality of care.