What hath night to do with sleep: Noise levels in the ICU: Preliminary findings

Background: Noise is frequently attributed to sleep disturbance, particularly in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where noise emanates from a plethora of sources. As a result, ICU patients’ experience fragmented sleep, which deleteriously effects their physiological recovery, neurocognitive function, and increases morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stipulated that noise levels within clinical environments should not exceed 40 dB(A) overnight in order to reduce sleep disturbance; however this is rarely achieved by ICU's worldwide. Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the noise levels within ICU and how this potentially impacts on patients’ sleep. Methods: A descriptive study design was utilised to monitor the noise levels (dB(A)) in the ICU over two nights between 2200–0700 hours. Noise levels were recorded via Extech (SDL600) sound meters at 5 second epochs. Sound meters were randomly allocated and positioned at a height of 155 cm behind the patients’ bed. Results: The findings demonstrated that noise levels exceeded WHO recommendations by 37%, with a mean sound level overnight of 54.89 dB(A) (S.D. = +/− 6.08). Recorded noise levels within the ICU ranged between 41.2 and 96.1 dB(A), with noise escalations exceeding 70 dB(A) occurring 6.78 times per hour. Conclusion: Strategies needs to be implemented to reduce the impact of staff generated noise in order to support rest amongst ICU patients.