Objective
To investigate nursing staff knowledge in relation to acute complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) in emergency services.
Methods
A qualitative study conducted with 18 nursing staff members working in an adult emergency hospital service. Inclusion criteria were: 1) having worked for at least six months in the emergency service; 2) having no plans of being absent from the service. Semi-structured interviews were recorded and conducted individually. The thematic analysis was used for organizing and analyzing data.
Results
Four themes emerged: 1) recognizing the signs and symptoms associated to severity in diabetes; 2) determining the urgency of care for people with diabetes; 3) the sequence of nursing care for acute complications of diabetes; and 4) recognizing risks and complications during nursing care.
Conclusion
The nursing staff working in the studied adult emergency service displayed knowledge in relation to how to care for acute DM complications, however, there were limitations regarding routine care practices.
Emergency nursing; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes complications; Nursing care