University Publications

The uses of positive inotropic have been plagued by serious concern regarding increased morbidity and mortality. In fact, the nurse plays a major role in drug administration, observations and prevention of side effects of medications which decrease the length of hospitalization, cost, morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess nurses' perspectives toward the administration of positive inotropic drugs in critical care units. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional hospital based study carried out at Omdurman Military Hospital among the nursing staff of the CCU of the hospital. The sample size was (100) nurses, and the data about knowledge and attitudes about positive inotropes administration were collected by using a questionnaire, and then they were processed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) – version (21), and presented in simple frequency tables, figures and cross-tabulations. The test was considered to be significant at p-value less than 0.05 and we used Likert scale to measure the attitude level. The results: overall results of knowledge about positive inotropes administration indicated poor knowledge (56%); however, the majority (60%) of the nurses demonstrated a positive attitude toward inotropes administration. Association between overall knowledge of the nurses and their qualification was not significant. Conclusion: Generally, nurses had poor knowledge about positive inotropes administration while more than half of them got positive attitudes. Key terms: Inotropes administration, nurses, knowledge, attitude.