Implementing selective digestive tract decontamination in the intensive care unit: A qualitative analysis of nurse-identified considerations

Abstract

Objective: To describe factors senior critical care nurses identify as being important to address when introducing selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD) in the clinical setting. Background: Critically ill patients are at risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). SDD is one strategy shown to prevent VAP and possibly improve survival in the critically ill. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of qualitative data obtained from 20 interviews. An inductive thematic analysis approach was applied to data obtained from senior critical care nurses during phase two of a multi-methods study. Results: There were four primary considerations identified that should be addres..