Impact of sound levels on physiological and consciousness state of cardiovascular patients Morales-Cané, Ignacio Acuña Castroviejo, Darío Critically ill patient Environment Intensive care units Noise Safety culture This research received specific grants from the Regional Ministry of Health and Families, Government of Andalusia. Reference: PIGE-0462-2019. Principal investigator: Morales-Cané I/Reference: PI-0360-2017. Principal investigator: López-Soto PJ. ETHICS STATEMENT The project was approved by the reference research ethics committee (Act no. 277, reference 3878) and carried out in accordance with the ethical principles established in the Declaration of Helsinki on Human Rights and Biomedicine, as well as the Spanish legislation on personal data protection. Background Patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) experience life-threatening medical conditions but some external factors in ICUs do not help or even adversely affect and complicate their evolution. Among others, such factors include noise pollution due to alarms and medical clinical equipment, as well as the activities of the health care personnel themselves. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the influence of elevated sound levels on physiological variables and the consciousness state of patients treated in a cardiovascular area in an ICU. Design A longitudinal study with several observations was carried out during 1 month in the cardiovascular area of an ICU of a third-level hospital in southern Spain. Methods Sound levels were monitored in different work shifts and patients' physiological data and consciousness status were recorded. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were developed to detect the variability of the sound levels together with the vital parameters of the patients in the ICU. Results Thirty-eight patients were included. The mean sound level was 54.09 dBA. The GAMM sound levels analysis showed a significant increase in sound levels from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (1.83 dBA; P < .001) and 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (3.06 dBA; P < .001). An increase in heart rate (3.66 bpm; P < .001), respiratory rate (2.62 rpm; P < .001) and the Glasgow Coma Scale (0.50 units; P = .002) was detected during the 4:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. period. Conclusions Elevated sound levels in cardiovascular ICUs seem to influence positively the physiological and consciousness status of patients. Given the importance of the findings for patient safety, future intervention studies are recommended. Relevance to Clinical Practice The finding of this study could translate into structural changes in ICU facilities, as well as the development of clinical practice guidelines that influence the behaviour of health care professionals. 2022-02-01T10:21:57Z 2022-02-01T10:21:57Z 2022-01-20 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Morales-Cané I, Moral-Arroyo JA, Debbia F, et al. Impact of sound levels on physiological and consciousness state of cardiovascular patients. Nurs Crit Care. 2022;1-11. [doi:10.1111/nicc.12746] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/72583 10.1111/nicc.12746 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España Wiley