Correlation Between Nurses’ Knowledge of Chest Tube Management and Complication Rates in Patients with Chest Trauma: Enhancing Safety and Clinical Outcomes

Background: Morbidity and mortality are serious issues that are often associated with chest trauma, which in most cases necessitates the insertion of a chest tube as a lifesaving procedure. Nurses play an important role in the management of the chest tubes, and their awareness directly affects the safety of the patients and the rates of complications. Nevertheless, lack of knowledge or bad practices can cause severe complications, which can affect recovery and outcomes. Aim: The aim of the study was to measure the relationship between the knowledge of nurses with the management of chest tubes and the rates of complications in patients with chest trauma at the Saidu Teaching Hospital, Swat. Methodology: A descriptive correlational study was carried out to examine 86 nurses out of 110 who were selected using a Raosoft-calculated sample size. A questionnaire of a structured character and a self-administered type was used, which included the demographics, assessment of knowledge, and reported complications. The statistical data were processed in SPSS version 27, and descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were applied to investigate the interaction of knowledge and complications. Informed consent and ethical approval were received. Results: The majority of nurses (48.8%) showed moderate knowledge, 30.2% showed good knowledge, and 20.9 % showed poor knowledge. The tube blockage (32.6) and accidental dislodgement (25.6) were the most commonly reported complications. In the analysis of the correlation, Pearson found a significant negative correlation between knowledge and complication rates (r = -0.421, p = 0.001), which showed that the higher the knowledge was, the lower the complications. Conclusion: The researchers emphasized that the knowledge of nurses contributes greatly to the rates of complications in patients in the case of chest trauma. To improve safety and clinical outcomes, continuous training, standardized practices, and competency-based assessments are necessary.