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Clinical Trial of an Educational Program to Decrease Monitor Alarms in a Medical Intensive Care Unit
Arian Brantley1, Sandra Collins-Brown1, Jasmine Kirkland1
1Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 (james.mcmurtry@emoryhealthcare.org).
Staff education on customizing bedside monitor alarm settings significantly reduced low oxygen saturation alarms by 39% in a medical intensive care unit. This intervention improved alarm management and patient safety.
Area of Science:
- Medical Devices
- Clinical Nursing
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Clinical research on reducing nonactionable alarms is limited.
- Effective interventions for alarm management are needed in intensive care settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a staff educational program on customizing bedside monitor alarm settings.
- To determine if this intervention decreases alarms in a medical intensive care unit (MICU).
Main Methods:
- A preintervention, postintervention, nonequivalent group design was employed.
- A 15-minute educational session on alarm management was provided to MICU nurses.
- Low SpO2 alarms were tracked via monitor log files for 15 days before and after the intervention.
Main Results:
- A 39% reduction in low SpO2 alarms was observed after the educational intervention (502 to 306 alarms per patient monitored per day).
- The reduction in alarms was statistically significant (P < .001).
Conclusions:
- Staff education on individualizing alarm settings effectively decreases common monitor alarms.
- This intervention shows promise for improving alarm management and potentially reducing alarm fatigue in MICUs.
