Nurses' and Families' Experiences of a Feasibility Trial Comparing Single-Use and Multiple-Use Endotracheal Suction Catheters in Mechanically Ventilated Patients: A Qualitative Study.
Mohamed H Eid, Kevin Hambridge, Patricia Schofield and 1 others
PMID 42591052WHAT IT FOUND
Nurses said chlorhexidine flushing made suctioning feel cleaner, but shortages, policy and workload made consistent use hard.
Families often consented through trust and clear, patient explanations rather than full understanding.
Key findings
01Nurses described persistent shortages of single-use catheters and chlorhexidine, along with time pressure, as shaping how they could perform suctioning.
02Nurses said that gaining experience and training on the suctioning procedure increased confidence and helped them perform it more consistently.
03Families often relied on trust in healthcare professionals and agreed to participation despite limited understanding of the study.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was small and took place in an Egyptian resource-limited ICU setting, so the experiences may not match other hospitals or countries. Only 20 of 27 eligible participants approached were included, so some experiences may be missing. The methods say three ICUs, while the limitations section says only one ICU, so the setting description is inconsistent. Interviews were translated from Arabic, which may have changed some meaning. One researcher conducted all interviews, and formal member checking was not done. Because the study was embedded in a feasibility trial, participants may have given expected answers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The researcher was funded by a full scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education of Egypt.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read nurses' reports of cleaner circuits or less thick secretions as evidence that chlorhexidine flushing prevents ventilator-associated pneumonia. This qualitative study recorded staff perceptions and feasibility barriers, not patient outcomes.