Nurses' practices of intravenous antimicrobial therapy: a scoping review

Abstract: To systematically identify, map and synthesise the available evidence on nurses’ practices throughout the intravenous antimicrobial management process within the context of antimicrobial stewardship.

Design

The scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Search strategy: A systematic search of five electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Medline) and grey literature was performed for studies published between 2015 and 2025. Eligibility criteria: Studies were included if they described or evaluated registered nurses' actual intravenous antimicrobial administration practices or experiences. Studies focusing solely on nurses’ knowledge or attitudes without practice-related outcomes, those centred on interdisciplinary interventions where nursing-specific contributions could not be isolated, purely opinion-based discursive articles without original empirical data, and studies conducted in non-acute settings (eg, home care, long-term care facilities) were excluded.