Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding use of local anaesthetics among non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals at Mulago national referral hospital

Abstract

Local anaesthetics are commonly used in dental and surgical emergency wards by both anaesthesia professionals and non-anaesthesia professionals. At Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda, anecdotal evidence shows that non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals do not monitor vital signs during the use of local anaesthesia. Even with the widespread use of local anaesthetics there are no standard hospital guidelines on the use of LA and management of LA toxicity by non anaesthesia professionals. In addition, no study has been done to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the non-anaesthesia professionals about the use of LA in their respective departments This study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding local anaesthetic use among non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals at Mulago National Referral Hospital. Methods: This study was a cross sectional study which utilized a quantitative research approach. The sample size of the study was 43 non-anaesthesia health care professionals from the casualty and surgical outpatient department and Mulago dental ward. Simple random sampling and proportionate sampling were used to select study participants. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Collected data was entered into Epi-Data Version 4.2. and exported to STATA-15 for analysis. Analyzed data were presented using frequency and proportion in form of tables and graphs. Results: 66.67% of the specialists, 76.47 % of the senior house officers, 100% of medical officers and 80% of the clinical orthopedic house officers had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge in the use of Local Anaesthesia at Mulago Casualty and Surgical Outpatient Department. 20% of xiii the specialists and 16.67% of the senior house officers had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge in the use of Local Anaesthesia at Mulago dental ward. 87.5% of the nonanaesthesia health care professionals in Mulago Casualty and Surgical Outpatient Department opined that there are no guidelines availed on how to administer LA in their department. 87.5% of the non-anaesthesia health care professionals do not give a test dose on routine basis in Mulago Casualty and Surgical Outpatient Department. 93.75% of the nonanaesthesia health care professionals do not test for LA allergy before injecting LA to patients in Mulago Casualty and Surgical Outpatient Department. 72.73% of the nonanaesthesia health care professionals do not test for LA allergy before injecting LA to patients in Mulago dental ward. A total of 63.64% of the non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals in Mulago dental ward do not sterilize the site of injection. 90.91% of the nonanaesthesia healthcare professionals in Mulago dental ward (100% of the specialists and 83.33% of the senior house officers) aspirate while administering LA. In Mulago Casualty and Surgical Outpatient Department, 84.38% of the non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals sterilize the site of injection and 93.75% of the non-anaesthesia healthcare professionals aspirate while administering LA Conclusion: Non-anaesthesia health care professionals had unsatisfactory level of knowledge with regards to local anaesthetic use. Non-anaesthesia health care professionals appear to have good practices with regards to LA use. Non-anaesthesia health care professionals displayed negative attitude towards LA use. Recommendation: Awareness and training should be carried out among non-anaesthesia health care professionals in order to enhance their knowledge and improve their attitude with regards to use of LA.