Knowledge and Practices of Nurses Working in Intensive Care on Drug-Drug Interaction

Purpose:This study was conducted to examine the knowledge and practices of nurses working in the intensive care unit about drug-drug interaction. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with 186 intensive care nurses working in shifts in 12 intensive care units. "Nurse information form", "Drug-drug interaction questionnaire" prepared by the researcher, and "nurse observation form" were used in data collection. The data obtained from the study were evaluated in computer environment using frequency, percentage distribution and Chi-square test. Results:In the study, 76.3% of the nurses working in the intensive care unit reported that they did not know which of the drug pairs they encountered frequently caused drug-drug interactions. When the drugs administered by the nurses were examined, it was determined that 34.4% of them had the potential for drug-drug interaction. It was found that nurses' potential drug-drug interaction practices, staff status and working styles, and working time in the institution, profession and intensive care unit were not effective. It was determined that there were significant differences between the intensive care units (p=0.043) in the drug-drug interaction practices encountered. Conclusion:It was determined that the nurses did not have the desired level of knowledge about drug-drug interactions and interacting drug pairs, and there were differences between the intensive care units where they worked. It is recommended to increase the level of knowledge by giving regular trainings to nurses on drug-drug interaction.