Assessment of Knowledge, Barrier in Implementation, and Compliance to Ventilator Bundle among Resident Doctors and Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Care Center of Western India: A Cross-sectional Survey

INTRODUCTION: Appropriate implementation of a ventilator bundle (VB) is the key step in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, knowledge and compliance of critical care staff for VB are inconsistent in developing countries. This cross-sectional survey was planned to evaluate critical care practitioners’ knowledge of, adherence to, and barriers toward implementation of VB in the ICUs of a tertiary care institute. METHODOLOGY: All registered nurses and resident doctors who are direct care providers to patients of the ICU were included. Two sets of questionnaires were given to access knowledge and to identify potential barriers in the implementation of VB. To determine compliance with the VB, direct observation was done for three nonconsecutive days, and mean compliance per component of the bundle and overall compliance to VB was determined. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics. RESULTS: Of these 75 participants, 43 (57.33%) were resident doctors and 32 (42.67%) were staff nurses. The median knowledge score of resident doctors and staff nurses for VB was 7 (range 3–10) and 6 (range 2–9), respectively, with an overall score of 7 (range 2–10). Self-reported adherence to individual components of VB ranged from 75% to 95%, among these, adherence to oral care protocol, including use of chlorhexidine oral rinse, was most, and adherence to DVT prophylaxis was least. The most common potential barriers identified were fear of potential adverse effects and unawareness of guidelines. CONCLUSION: Considerable gap is observed between knowledge and implementation of VB among critical care practitioners. Despite knowledge, fear of adverse events and lack of proper training are key barriers in implementation of VB. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Paliwal N, Bihani P, Mohammed S, Rao S, Jaju R, Janweja S. Assessment of Knowledge, Barrier in Implementation, and Compliance to Ventilator Bundle among Resident Doctors and Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Care Center of Western India: A Cross-sectional Survey. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(4):270–276.