The Effect of Clinical Nursing Practice Guidelines to Prevent Nasal Skin Injury on Nasal Skin Injury of Premature Infants with Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

Abstract

Abstract: The present study was a quasi-experimental study with a non-randomized control group, posttest only design which aimed at investigating the effect of a clinical nursing practice guideline to prevent nasal skin injury of premature infants with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). The study sample consisted of premature infants aged one to 28 days who received NCPAP with nasal prongs and were admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Chonburi Hospital, Twenty-nine subjects in the control group received routine nursing care, while 30 subjects in the experimental group received the clinical nursing practice guideline to prevent nasal skin injury which consisted of seven practice components: 1) selecting the size of nasal prongs, 2) insertion and fixation of nasal prongs, 3) care while on nasal prongs, 4) monitoring of complications, 5) suction of nasal secretions, 6) adjustment of appropriate humidity and temperature, and 7) care for physical comfort. The instruments used in this study composed of the personal data record form, the clinical nursing practice guideline to prevent nasal skin injury, the nursing record form based on the clinical nursing practice guideline to prevent nasal skin injury, and the nasal skin injury evaluation form. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney U-test. The study finding showed that premature infants in the experimental group who received NCPAP had significantly less nasal skin injury than that of the premature infants in the control group. The study findings revealed that he clinical nursing practice guideline to prevent nasal skin injury could reduce nasal skin injuries. Therefore, the clinical nursing practice guidelines to prevent nasal skin injury should be integrated into care of premature infants so as to further enhance quality of nursing care provided to premature infants receiving NCPAP.

Keywords: Clinical nursing practice guideline, Nasal skin injury, Premature infants, Nasal continuous positive airway pressure