Identifying Noise Sources & Alarm Hazards in ICUs – Occurrences. Tools to Minimize

Abstract

ICU of a hospital is considered to be one of the most stressful and psychologically taxing working places because of the congregation of critically ill and severely injured patients. Patients with any life-threatening illnesses are admitted to the intensive care unit. The objective of ICUs is to assist such patients duly recover by providing them advanced treatment with the skillful application of advanced techniques. ICU is also a place where sophisticated equipment and machinery necessary to supervise and care for a seriously ill patient are strung together to meet the treatment needs of patients without the possibility of neglecting them. Part of the ICU architecture is medical device alarms. Clinical devices and other appliances sound hundreds of alarms per patient per day, creating a dissonance that can overwhelm, distract, and desensitize health care workers as well as patients. The hazards related to excessive noise and clinical alarms were conceived as a project when it was observed that the stress level of patients and care givers increased due to the noise coming out of these alarm systems. A study undertaken in one of the multispecialty Hospitals in Bhubaneswar to find out the possible sources of stress revealed that noise from alarms and other sources were proving to be a source of a hindrance for effective communication and contributing to patients’ stress. The results of our study indicate that behavioral modification alone is not adequate to control excessive noise. There is a need for further research involving the supportive involvement by clinicians, nurses, and paramedic and support staffs, along with effective medical device alarm management, and continuous process improvement methods and training.