Clinical Trial of an Educational Program to Decrease Monitor Alarms in a Medical Intensive Care Unit. (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Brantley, Arian; Collins‐Brown, Sandra; Kirkland, Jasmine; Knapp, Meghan; Pressley, Jackie; Higgins, Melinda; McMurtry, James P.
• Is Part Of: AACN advanced critical care. Volume 27:Number 3(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: alarm fatigue -- alarm avoidance -- nonactionable alarms -- nuisance alarms -- false alarms; Intensive care nursing -- Periodicals; Critical care medicine -- Periodicals; 616.028
• DOI: 10.4037/aacnacc2016110
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1559-7768

Abstract

Abstract : ABSTRACT : Clinical research to identify effective interventions for decreasing nonactionable alarms has been limited. The objective of this study was to determine if a staff educational program on customizing alarm settings on bedside monitors decreased alarms in a medical intensive care unit (MICU). A preintervention, postintervention, nonequivalent group design was used to evaluate an educational program on alarm management in a convenience sample of MICU nurses. A 15‐minute session was provided in a 1‐week period. The outcome variable (number of alarms for low oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry [SpO2 ]) was determined from monitor log files adjusted by patient census. Data were collected for 15 days before and after the intervention. χ 2 analysis was used, with P less than .05 considered significant. After 1 week of education, low SpO2 alarms decreased from 502 to 306 alarms per patient monitored per day, a 39% reduction ( P < .001). Instructions for nurses in the medical intensive care unit on individualizing alarm settings to patients' clinical condition decreased common monitor alarms by 39%.