Intensive care nurses’ awareness of identification of early sepsis findings

Aim To determine intensive care nurses’ awareness of identification of early sepsis findings. Background The incidence of sepsis is increasing in intensive care units, and if not identified early, it increases morbidity, mortality and cost of care. Intervention within one hour after the diagnosis of sepsis increases survival. Nurses’ ability to identify early findings of sepsis affects the time of diagnosis of sepsis. Design The study used a cross‐sectional design. Methods The sample of the study consisted of 544 nurses working in adult intensive care units of hospitals in Turkey. The study data were collected online between 11 January–8 April 2021 using the snowball method. Data were statically analysed. All procedures of the study adhered to the STROBE guidelines. Results The nurses who had been working for 11 years or more, had worked with a patient diagnosed with sepsis in the last month and used a measurement tool in the diagnosis thought that it was significantly easier to determine the early warning findings of sepsis. In the study, the majority of nurses correctly identified the early findings of sepsis, but the rates of the correct responses to the variables of lactate >2 mM, leucopenia and hypothermia were low. Female gender, having a graduate degree, unit type, total work experience, having received training on sepsis and working with a patient diagnosed with sepsis in the last month made a significant difference in determining the early warning findings of sepsis accurately. Conclusions Nurses had a good rate of identifying early sepsis findings. Yet, they could not distinguish between early sepsis and late sepsis findings. Relevance to clinical practice The results of the study can support nursing practices in the diagnostic process by considering the factors affecting nurses’ ability to distinguish early sepsis findings from late sepsis findings and to identify them correctly.