Abstract
BACKGROUND: Renal biopsy is one of the most commonly performed diagnostic procedures in the nephrology unit. Nurses play a very important role in pre-biopsy preparation, assisting during procedure and post-biopsy care. Nursing care provided during or after renal biopsy is of utmost importance in reducing complications. The study aims to perform a clinical audit of nursing practices to find the gaps in existing practices for the procedure of assisting renal biopsy and to develop standard protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive observational study was conducted on 19 nurses who were working in the nephrology unit of the tertiary care center. They were enrolled through total enumerative sampling. Sociodemographic profile and clinical profile were collected. The observation checklist was formed based on standard nursing practices, which included three dimensions for the procedure of assisting renal biopsy. Based on the gaps identified, a standard protocol was developed. Nurses were observed during two shifts and each nurse was observed once. Scoring of items was done in each dimension and for acceptable practices, nurses have to score ≥80% in each dimension. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The majority of nurses (73.7%) have not undergone any special training in nephrology. None (100%) showed an acceptable level of nursing practices for all the dimensions of assisting renal biopsy procedure. Standard protocol was developed by the researcher following a rigorous process. CONCLUSION: The clinical audit found that there were gaps in the existing nursing practices for the procedure of assisting renal biopsy and these gaps have been addressed by the development of a standard protocol.