[Alarms of medical-technical equipment in the surgical intensive care unit. A prospective study]

To test the need for a graded system of alarms on ICU we examined this aspect of present management by recording the number of devices and alarm-releasing facilities, the interpretation of alarms and type of response of the nursing staff. The data were recorded on multiphase basis at the operative ICU of a university hospital. The mean number of devices per patient was 4.3 and per room 11.5. The mean interval between 2 alarms was 5 min 30 s. In more than 50 per cent the first reaction of the staff was alarm-related. We conclude that the number of alarm signals should be reduced and unique signals used for each group of medical devices.