The Knowledge of Nurses about Evidence-based Guideline in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: Stroke is the most common cerebrovascular disease and the third most common cause of disability in the world. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of nurses in emergency departments based on evidence-based care guidelines in the acute phase of ischemic stroke.

Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was performed on 129 nurses working in emergency departments of 16 hospitals of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2017. Samples were selected randomly. The study tool was a questionnaire with 10 multiple choice questions about the care of acute phase of ischemic stroke patients. Data were analyzed by SPSS software ver. 21 using descriptive tests, ANOVA, T-test, Chi-square.

Results: The mean of the participants’ knowledge about acute phase of ischemic stroke care was 40.07 ± 16.46. The highest response rate was related to the symptoms of stroke (85.27%). There was a significant relationship between the number of beds in the hospitals and the nurses' knowledge about beginning treatment of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) (P<0.005), optimal level of blood pressure prior to administering intravenous tPA (P<0.001), and recommended dosage of tPA (P<0.001) .Also, a significant relationship was reported between the number of beds in the emergency departments and the nurses' knowledge about optimal level of blood pressure prior to administering intravenous tPA (P<0.001), and recommended dosage of tPA (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The nurses' knowledge was not satisfactory about the guideline of the acute stage of ischemic stroke. Therefore, provision of evidence-based continuing education courses and mandatory attendance of emergency nurses in these courses is recommended.