Development of an Eye Cure Protocol for ICU Patients

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an eye care protocol for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Method: A systematic review was conducted to develop an eye care protocol for ICU patients. Searches were performed using computerized databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, EBM Review) and citation search from 1996 to January 2007. For the keywords, "eye care", and "randomized controlled trial" were used to identify experimental studies regarding eye care for ICU patients. After reviewing the collected studies, a preliminary eye care protocol algorithm was created. Then, content validity was examined with ophthalmologists and ICU nurses. Results: Six studies were included to serve as a basis for framing of the preliminary algorithm. The final eye care protocol was completed after verifying the preliminary algorithm's content validity. The final eye care protocol was organized in the following manner: 3 items in the assessment stage, 7 items in the no-risk stage, 4 items in the low-risk stage, and 5 items in the high-risk stage. Conclusion: The results indicate that, for ICU patients, nurses can broaden their knowledge regarding ocular diseases, as well as improve their practice-based eye care nursing performanceope