Evaluating the Knowledge and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Airway Management among Respiratory Therapists in Critical Care Units across Lahore
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Background: Evidence-based airway management is central to respiratory therapy practice in critical care because decisions concerning airway confirmation, suctioning, cuff management, preoxygenation, non-invasive ventilation, tracheostomy care, and liberation from mechanical ventilation can influence patient safety. Objective: To evaluate evidence-based-practice-related knowledge and self-reported airway-management implementation among respiratory therapists working in critical care units across Lahore. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 132 respiratory therapists working in critical care units. A structured questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics, airway-management knowledge, and self-reported implementation. Frequencies and percentages were calculated, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare composite knowledge and implementation scores across selected demographic groups. Results: Of 132 participants, 55.3% were male, 78.0% had 1–5 years of experience, 74.2% held a bachelor's degree, and 78.0% reported airway-management certification. End-tidal CO₂ monitoring was selected by 37.9% as the preferred method of endotracheal-tube confirmation, while 66.7% identified 20–30 cmH₂O as the appropriate cuff-pressure range. Closed suction was selected by 69.7%, semirecumbent positioning during non-invasive ventilation by 77.3%, and humidified oxygen through a tracheostomy collar by 94.7%. Knowledge scores differed by experience, F=3.255, p=.042, while implementation scores differed by age, F=6.360, p=.002, and qualification, F=6.342, p=.002. Conclusion: Respiratory therapists demonstrated heterogeneous knowledge and self-reported implementation across airway-management domains. Experience, age, and academic qualification were associated with selected composite scores, but the study does not establish causal effects or directly observed adherence to clinical guidelines.
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