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International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2020In conditions of intensive therapy, where the patients treated are in a critical condition, alarms are omnipresent. Nurses, as they spend most of their time with...
BACKGROUND
In conditions of intensive therapy, where the patients treated are in a critical condition, alarms are omnipresent. Nurses, as they spend most of their time with patients, monitoring their condition 24 h, are particularly exposed to so-called alarm fatigue. The purpose of this study is to review the literature available on the perception of clinical alarms by nursing personnel and its impact on work in the ICU environment.
METHODS
A systematic review of the literature was carried out according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol. The content of electronic databases was searched through, i.e., PubMed, OVID, EBSCO, ProQuest Nursery, and Cochrane Library. The keywords used in the search included: "intensive care unit," "nurse," "alarm fatigue," "workload," and "clinical alarm." The review also covered studies carried out among nurses employed at an adult intensive care unit. Finally, seven publications were taken into consideration. Data were analyzed both descriptively and quantitatively, calculating a weighted average for specific synthetized data.
RESULTS
In the analyzed studies, 389 nurses were tested, working in different intensive care units. Two studies were based on a quality model, while the other five described the problem of alarms in terms of quantity, based on the HTF (Healthcare Technology Foundation) questionnaire. Intensive care nurses think that alarms are burdensome and too frequent, interfering with caring for patients and causing reduced trust in alarm systems. They feel overburdened with an excessive amount of duties and a continuous wave of alarms. Having to operate modern equipment, which is becoming more and more advanced, takes time that nurses would prefer to dedicate to their patients. There is no clear system for managing the alarms of monitoring devices.
CONCLUSION
Alarm fatigue may have serious consequences, both for patients and for nursing personnel. It is necessary to introduce a strategy of alarm management and for measuring the alarm fatigue level.
Topics: Adult; Clinical Alarms; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fatigue; Female; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Monitoring, Physiologic; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 33202907
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17228409 -
SAGE Open Nursing 2022This evidence-based research project provides an appraisal of current research on how an alarm management program impacts alarm fatigue among registered nurses (RNs) in... (Review)
Review
This evidence-based research project provides an appraisal of current research on how an alarm management program impacts alarm fatigue among registered nurses (RNs) in both intensive care units (ICUs) and telemetry units. Alarm fatigue is a major problem recognized by both the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and the Joint Commission. RNs are the primary caretakers of critically ill patients in ICUs and telemetry units and therefore are at the greatest risk for alarm fatigue. The researchers performed an evidence synthesis to determine the impact of an alarm management program on alarm fatigue among ICU and telemetry RNs. A literature search was conducted using scientific databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, Trip, Cochrane Review, and Google Scholar. Our search strategy included the following terms: adult registered nurse, inpatient registered nurse, ICU registered nurses, RNs, Nurse Practitioners, alarm fatigue, alarm management strategy, education, cardiac monitor alarm, alarm strategies, alarm bundle, telemetry alarm, and cardiac monitor. Any studies involving the pediatric population, pulse oximeter alarms, and ventilator alarms were excluded. Due to the lack of available randomized control trials and cohort studies, the authors included two quality improvement (QI) projects. Finally, six studies were taken into consideration for review. The authors appraised each of the six articles using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist (CASP) Tool. This tool allowed the authors to synthesize information based on the outcomes and determine the level of the evidence of each article in order to make evidence-based practice recommendations on implementing alarm management programs. Despite extensive literature highlighting the astronomical prevalence of alarm fatigue in RNs, there was a lack of current high-quality data related to implementing alarm management programs. Therefore, more research is needed to support the utilization of alarm management programs in ICUs and telemetry units to improve alarm fatigue among RNs.
PubMed: 35592038
DOI: 10.1177/23779608221098713 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Jun 2020Due to demographic change and, more recently, coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the importance of modern intensive care units (ICU) is becoming apparent. One of the key...
BACKGROUND
Due to demographic change and, more recently, coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the importance of modern intensive care units (ICU) is becoming apparent. One of the key components of an ICU is the continuous monitoring of patients' vital parameters. However, existing advances in informatics, signal processing, or engineering that could alleviate the burden on ICUs have not yet been applied. This could be due to the lack of user involvement in research and development.
OBJECTIVE
This study focused on the satisfaction of ICU staff with current patient monitoring and their suggestions for future improvements. We aimed to identify aspects of monitoring that interrupt patient care, display devices for remote monitoring, use cases for artificial intelligence (AI), and whether ICU staff members are willing to improve their digital literacy or contribute to the improvement of patient monitoring. We further aimed to identify differences in the responses of different professional groups.
METHODS
This survey study was performed with ICU staff from 4 ICUs of a German university hospital between November 2019 and January 2020. We developed a web-based 36-item survey questionnaire, by analyzing a preceding qualitative interview study with ICU staff, about the clinical requirements of future patient monitoring. Statistical analyses of questionnaire results included median values with their bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals, and chi-square tests to compare the distributions of item responses of the professional groups.
RESULTS
In total, 86 of the 270 ICU physicians and nurses completed the survey questionnaire. The majority stated they felt confident using the patient monitoring equipment, but that high rates of false-positive alarms and the many sensor cables interrupted patient care. Regarding future improvements, respondents asked for wireless sensors, a reduction in the number of false-positive alarms, and hospital standard operating procedures for alarm management. Responses to the display devices proposed for remote patient monitoring were divided. Most respondents indicated it would be useful for earlier alerting or when they were responsible for multiple wards. AI for ICUs would be useful for early detection of complications and an increased risk of mortality; in addition, the AI could propose guidelines for therapy and diagnostics. Transparency, interoperability, usability, and staff training were essential to promote the use of AI. The majority wanted to learn more about new technologies for the ICU and required more time for learning. Physicians had fewer reservations than nurses about AI-based intelligent alarm management and using mobile phones for remote monitoring.
CONCLUSIONS
This survey study of ICU staff revealed key improvements for patient monitoring in intensive care medicine. Hospital providers and medical device manufacturers should focus on reducing false alarms, implementing hospital alarm standard operating procedures, introducing wireless sensors, preparing for the use of AI, and enhancing the digital literacy of ICU staff. Our results may contribute to the user-centered transfer of digital technologies into practice to alleviate challenges in intensive care medicine.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03514173; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03514173.
Topics: Adult; Artificial Intelligence; Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Critical Care; Female; Germany; Health Care Surveys; Hospitals, University; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Male; Monitoring, Physiologic; Nurses; Pandemics; Physicians; Pneumonia, Viral; Qualitative Research; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 32459655
DOI: 10.2196/19091 -
Anesthesiology Apr 2023
Topics: Clinical Alarms; Monitoring, Physiologic; Patient Safety
PubMed: 36729394
DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004499 -
Respiratory Care Oct 2019Mechanical ventilation alarms and alerts, both audible and visual, provide the clinician with vital information about the patient's physiologic condition and the status... (Review)
Review
Mechanical ventilation alarms and alerts, both audible and visual, provide the clinician with vital information about the patient's physiologic condition and the status of the machine's function. Not all alarms generated by the mechanical ventilator provide actionable information. Over time, clinicians can become desensitized to audible alarms due to alarm fatigue and may potentially ignore an actionable situation that results in patient harm. Alarm fatigue has been recognized by multiple agencies as a major patient-safety issue. To date, mechanical ventilator alarm settings do not have standardized nomenclature. The aim of this review was to examine and report on the literature that pertains to mechanical ventilation alarms and alarm fatigue and to propose recommendations for future research that may lead to safer mechanical ventilation alarm practices.
Topics: Alert Fatigue, Health Personnel; Clinical Alarms; Humans; Noise, Occupational; Respiration, Artificial; Sensory Gating
PubMed: 31213570
DOI: 10.4187/respcare.06878 -
BMJ Clinical Evidence Jan 2015Nocturnal enuresis affects 15% to 20% of 5-year-old children, 5% of 10-year-old children, and 1% to 2% of people aged 15 years and older. Without treatment, 15% of... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Nocturnal enuresis affects 15% to 20% of 5-year-old children, 5% of 10-year-old children, and 1% to 2% of people aged 15 years and older. Without treatment, 15% of affected children will become dry each year. Nocturnal enuresis is not diagnosed in children younger than 5 years, and treatment may be inappropriate for children younger than 7 years.
METHODS AND OUTCOMES
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of non-pharmacological interventions for relief of symptoms of nocturnal enuresis? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to October 2013 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
RESULTS
We found five studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: acupuncture, dry bed training, enuresis alarm, and hypnotherapy.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Clinical Alarms; Humans; Hypnosis; Nocturnal Enuresis; Safety; Teaching
PubMed: 25585036
DOI: No ID Found -
Respiratory Care Aug 2016This paper will present a focused and personal history of physiologic monitoring, beginning with the discovery of modern anesthesia and its development from a technical...
This paper will present a focused and personal history of physiologic monitoring, beginning with the discovery of modern anesthesia and its development from a technical practice to a scientific discipline. Emphasis will be on the essence of monitoring in the anesthesia evolution, and this work will attempt to answer the question of how to evaluate the impact of monitoring on patient outcome. Understanding that monitors are passive and that only caregivers using monitors can impact outcome is at the crux of this approach to analysis. The limited quality data involving monitoring analysis, including that from pulse oximetry, will be discussed and critiqued. The invention and rapid spread of pulse oximetry will be highlighted and used as an example throughout, but the principles developed will apply to other monitors and patient monitoring in general. The problems created by monitoring alarms will also be discussed.
Topics: Anesthesia; Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic; Oximetry
PubMed: 27435862
DOI: 10.4187/respcare.04931 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Apr 2023The March issue contains a laboratory study of auditory perception, which is an unusual topic for this journal. A perspective is provided on how the study relates to...
The March issue contains a laboratory study of auditory perception, which is an unusual topic for this journal. A perspective is provided on how the study relates to recent research on clinical auditory alarms and displays. Techniques used in the study are explored and explained, such as enrolment of non-clinician volunteer participants, use of coordinate response measure phrase stimuli, presentation of sound loudness levels using the decibel scale, and analysis using signal detection theory. Such efforts to improve the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of modern medical device alarms are critical for improved patient safety.
Topics: Humans; Sound; Auditory Perception; Patient Safety
PubMed: 36792387
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.01.014 -
Respiratory Care Jun 2020Clinical alarms, including those for mechanical ventilation, have been one of the leading causes of health technology hazards. It has been reported that < 15% of alarms... (Review)
Review
Clinical alarms, including those for mechanical ventilation, have been one of the leading causes of health technology hazards. It has been reported that < 15% of alarms studied rose to the level of being clinically relevant or actionable. Most alarms in health care, whether by default or intention, are set to a hypothetical average patient, which is essentially a one size fits most approach. A method of tuning to individual patient characteristics is possible, similar to the treatment philosophy of precision medicine. The excessive amount of alarms in a clinical environment is thought to be the largest contributing factor to alarm-related adverse events. All these factors come to bear on human perception and response to mechanical ventilation and clinical alarms. Observations of human response to stimuli suggest that response to alarms is closely matched to the perceived reliability and value of the alarm system. This paper provides a review examining vulnerabilities in the current management of mechanical ventilation alarms and summarizes best practices identified to help prevent patient injury. This review examines the factors that affect alarm utility and provides recommendations for applying research findings to improve safety for patients, clinician efficiency, and clinician well-being.
Topics: Clinical Alarms; Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic; Patient Safety; Reproducibility of Results; Respiration, Artificial; Ventilators, Mechanical
PubMed: 32457173
DOI: 10.4187/respcare.07546 -
Journal of the American Medical... May 2013This paper summarizes much of the research that is applicable to the design of auditory alarms in a medical context. It also summarizes research that demonstrates that... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
This paper summarizes much of the research that is applicable to the design of auditory alarms in a medical context. It also summarizes research that demonstrates that false alarm rates are unacceptably high, meaning that the proper application of auditory alarm design principles are compromised.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Designers, users, and manufacturers of medical information and monitoring systems that indicate when medical or other parameters are exceeded and that are indicated by an auditory signal or signals.
SCOPE
The emergence of alarms as a 'hot topic'; an outline of the issues and design principles, including IEC 60601-1-8; the high incidence of false alarms and its impact on alarm design and alarm fatigue; approaches to reducing alarm fatigue; alarm philosophy explained; urgency in audible alarms; different classes of sound as alarms; heterogeneity in alarm set design; problems with IEC 60601-1-8 and ways of approaching this design problem.
Topics: Clinical Alarms; Equipment Failure; Humans; Sound
PubMed: 23100127
DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2012-001061