Ghada Shalaby Khalaf Mahran^1,, Hala A Abdelrahman²

Introduction: Re-feeding syndrome is a fetal syndrome which results from fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes that may occur in malnourished patients receiving artificial re-feeding. Therefore, nurses and physicians working in ICUs should be aware of this fetal complication and consequences of its occurrence in acutely ill. The aim of the work is to examine the perception of nurses and physicians about re-feeding syndrome in critically ill. Methods: The study design was a descriptive and cross sectional design. Setting, This study was implemented in general and trauma intensive care units (ICUs) at Assiut university Hospital in Assiut-Egypt. Subjects, 30 critical care nurses and 25 intensive care physicians were drawn from the previously mentioned ICUs. Tools: A questionnaire tool was adopted from the articles to be used in data collection to assess the focus group perception regarding re-feeding syndrome. The data was collected from May 2018 to August 2018. Results: The findings of the current study show that nurses and physicians have poor knowledge regarding re-feeding syndrome. Conclusion: The present study shows strong evidence that the level of knowledge of nurses’ and physicians about re-feeding syndrome, was not adequate and low. This may be contributed as the participants didn’t receive any previous educative sections about re-feeding syndrome. Recommendation: Nurses and physicians need training to give them advanced level of knowledge about re-feeding syndrome to be able to deal with the physiological changes that occur in critically ill.

re-feeding syndrome, critically ill, Critical care nurses