Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hypothermia is a relatively common complication during CRR and affects patients’ decisions of clinical management, ICU length of stay, and clinical outcomes. It is important for critical care nurses to understand hypothermia during CRRT and implement management to prevent it. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted in 13 hospitals in Guangdong province, China, from June to July 2024. A self-made structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test T-tests, multiple linear regression, and Spearman correlation coefficient tests were employed. RESULTS: A total of 741 eligible questionnaires were received for data analysis. The median scores of knowledge were 9.0 (IQR: 8.0–10.0), with mean scores of 8.6 and scoring rate of 66.2%; The median scores of attitude were 25.0 (IQR: 24.0–25.0), with mean scores of 23.9 and scoring rate of 95.6%; The median scores of practice were 48.0 (IQR: 44.0–53.0) with mean scores of 48.0 and scoring rate of 80.0%. There was a positive and significant relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that education level and head nurse independently affected the knowledge; marital status independently affected the attitude; ICU working years, education level, technical title and casual/contracted type independently affected the practice. CONCLUSIONS: In the study, critical care nurses generally have inadequate knowledge, positive attitude and good practice regarding hypothermia management during CRRT. There is room for improvement in knowledge and practice compared to attitude. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-026-04504-3.