Published online Mar 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v15.i1.116965
Revised: December 8, 2025
Accepted: January 8, 2026
Published online: March 25, 2026
Processing time: 108 Days and 6.5 Hours
Nursing care for patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) is a crucial step in reducing complications and promoting recovery. Infection control procedures are vital tools for preventing most complications. Proper nursing education and training for managing these patients can provide sufficient pro
To evaluate nurses’ performance after receiving nursing instructions regarding the infection control measures for patients with PNL.
A quasi-experimental research design (pretest-posttest) was employed. The study was conducted at Assiut University Urology Hospital, Assiut University, Egypt. The participant nurses worked in units providing healthcare for patients who underwent PNL and received focused nursing instructions on infection control measures. The tools used included a structured questionnaire assessing their knowledge of PNL healthcare and a nurses’ practice observation checklist. The researchers completed these tools before and after the nurses received focused education on infection control measures. The focused education was provided through an illustrated booklet. The local ethics committee approved this study.
This study comprised 30 nurses, including 19 females (63.3%). Of these, 46.7% were in the 20-25 age group, 90% had a high educational level, and 50% had less than 5 years of work experience. Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-test scores in overall performance (P = 0.001), total preoperative scores (P = 0.001), immediate postoperative scores (P = 0.006), infection control measures (P = 0.001), and respiratory hygiene practices (P = 0.001). In the pretest, 16.7% of the nurses demonstrated adequate practice levels of infection control measures for patients undergoing PNL, compared to 100% in the posttest (P = 0.001). No significant relationships were found between nurses’ practice levels and their demographic variables (P > 0.050).
The nurses’ performance improved significantly after receiving focused nursing instructions on infection control measures for patients with PNL. Nurses should participate in ongoing training programs on infection control procedures.
Core Tip: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) is currently the most widely used treatment for urolithiasis. It requires appropriate surgical and nursing-based healthcare measures. Nurses play a vital role in maintaining aseptic techniques and preventing hospital-acquired infections through infection control measures. Professional healthcare systems must ensure that nurses have up-to-date knowledge of appropriate and well-developed protocols. The present study demonstrated that implementing structured nursing instructions on infection control measures for patients undergoing PNL resulted in a significant improvement in nurses’ clinical performance and compliance with infection control standards. However, conducting further long-term randomized controlled trials is highly recommended.