Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge and Practice Regarding Prevention of Deep Venous Thrombosis Among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of patient morbidity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19; it is a common and potentially fatal complication. Knowledge and effective practice on VTE prophylaxis are vital for the proper patients’ management. Inadequate knowledge and poor practice of health professionals towards VTE prophylaxis increased patients' complications. The aim of the study: assess nurses' knowledge and practice regarding prevention of deep venous thrombosis among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Design: A descriptive exploratory design. Setting: The study was conducted at Al Kasr Al Einy Teaching Hospital (Cairo University Hospitals). Subject: A convenient sample includes 100 nurses from the previously mentioned setting. Tools: Data were collected using two tools; a Knowledge self-administrated questionnaire and a practical observational checklist. Results: results showed that less than half of the studied nurses were more than 30 years. Majority of them were female, more than half had Institute of nursing, and majority of them had experience more than 6 years. There was no a statically significant correlation between nurses' knowledge and practices and the demographic data. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated about two-thirds of studied nurses were an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and the majority of them had an incompetent level of practice regarding prevention of DVT among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, there was a statically significant correlation (P<0.05) between total nurses' knowledge and practices. Recommendations: Continuous educational programs to enhance the nurse's knowledge and practices regarding DVT prevention among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.