Nurses’ knowledge and practice in the management of patients with organophosphate poisoning: a scoping review

Background: More than 700,000 people die due to suicide every year, and ingestion of pesticides has become one of the means to attempt suicide. Nurses are the first health professionals to meet patients who have consumed poisons in the hospital. Therefore, knowledge, skills, and positive self-esteem are fundamental to practice and influence overall patient outcomes. Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to assess nurses’ knowledge and practices in the management of patients with organophosphate poisoning. Methods: A scoping review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2023 was conducted using a comprehensive search strategy. A total of 59 articles were retrieved from online databases. The Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for conducting the scoping review were adopted and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Scoping Review-Scoping Reviews guidelines. Results: The mean age of nurses was found to be 34.43 ± 5.83 years. Most nurses who provided care were males, and 534 (40.1%) nurses had good knowledge of managing patients with organophosphate poisoning. Apparently, 602 (51.4%) out of 1172 nurses were confident in managing patients skilfully and efficiently. Conclusion: The findings of this scoping review highlight the importance of ongoing training sessions for nurses to improve their confidence in handling toxicological emergencies to avoid complications and prolong hospital stays.