Association between exposure to nonactionable physiologic monitor alarms and response time in a children's hospital.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alarm fatigue is reported to be a major threat to patient safety, yet little empirical data support its existence in the hospital.

Objective

To determine if nurses exposed to high rates of nonactionable physiologic monitor alarms respond more slowly to subsequent alarms that could represent life-threatening conditions.

Design

Observational study using video.

Setting

Freestanding children's hospital.

Patients

Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients requiring inotropic support and/or mechanical ventilation, and medical ward patients.

Intervention

None.

Measurements

Actionable alarms were defined as correctly identifying physiologic status and warranting clinical intervention or consultation. We measured response time to alarm

SUBMITTER: Bonafide CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4456276 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature