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Noise in the postanaesthesia care unit.

B Allaouchiche¹, F Duflo, R Debon

¹Service d'Anesthésie-Reanimation, Hôpital de l'Hôtel-Dieu, Lyon, France.

British Journal of Anaesthesia

|May 7, 2002

Summary

Post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) noise levels often exceed recommended limits, primarily due to staff conversations. However, this noise did not significantly impact patient comfort, with pain being the main factor affecting discomfort.

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Area of Science:

Anesthesiology
Critical Care Medicine
Environmental Health

Background:

Post-anaesthesia care units (PACU) are known for noise, but its impact on patient recovery is not well understood.
This study investigated noise levels, sources, and patient comfort in a PACU environment.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify noise levels and identify primary sources within a PACU.
To assess the relationship between PACU noise and patient comfort during recovery from anaesthesia.

Main Methods:

Noise levels were measured using a sound level meter in a five-bed PACU, recording A-weighted (dBA) and peak linear (dBL) sound levels.
Noise characteristics (Leq, LeqMax, LeqMin, Lpc) were calculated, and sound origins above 65 dB were noted.
Patient comfort was assessed via questionnaires two hours post-PACU discharge, ranking complaints on a visual analogue scale (VAS).

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Main Results:

The average noise level (Leq) was 67.1 dBA, exceeding the recommended 40 dBA, with peak levels reaching 126.2 dBL.
Staff conversations accounted for 56% of noise events exceeding 65 dB; alarms and other sources were less frequent.
Only 5 patients reported noise disturbance, and noise levels did not significantly differ between patients who found the PACU noisy and those who did not.

Conclusions:

Despite exceeding recommended noise intensity, PACU sound levels did not correlate with patient discomfort.
Staff conversation is the predominant source of elevated noise in the PACU.
Patient discomfort in the PACU is primarily associated with pain, not noise levels.