Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 4, 2025
Through-the-Wall Blood Sampling Method to Minimize Sleep Disruption in Clinical Settings
Published on: June 13, 2025
Characterizing Sleep Disruption and Delirium in Children After Cardiac Surgery: A Feasibility Study
Jillian L Gregory1, Anna T Brown2, Sapna R Kudchadkar3
1Departments of Pediatrics and Critical Care Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME.
Insights
This pilot study shows actigraphy is feasible for monitoring sleep in pediatric cardiac ICU patients. Most children experienced sleep disruption and delirium, highlighting a need for further research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Sleep science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) patients face factors contributing to sleep disturbances and delirium.
- Understanding sleep patterns is crucial for managing these vulnerable patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of using actigraphy to monitor sleep in pediatric cardiac ICU patients.
- To investigate the association between sleep characteristics and the development of delirium.
Main Methods:
- A prospective observational pilot study was conducted in a US academic children's hospital.
- Nineteen pediatric cardiac ICU patients after cardiac surgery were enrolled.
- Actigraphy watches were used to collect sleep data over 63 patient-days.
Main Results:
- Actigraphy monitoring and delirium screening were feasible.
- Sixty-one percent of patients screened positive for delirium.
- Most children exhibited significant sleep disruption, with median sleep efficiency of 43-49%.
Conclusions:
- Actigraphy is a viable tool for assessing sleep in pediatric cardiac ICU patients.
- Sleep disruption and delirium are prevalent in this population.
- Pilot data support a larger study to explore the sleep-delirium relationship.
Objectives:
Patients in the pediatric cardiac ICU are frequently exposed to pharmacologic and environmental factors that predispose them to sleep disturbances and may increase the risk of delirium. In this pilot study, we sought to demonstrate the feasibility of actigraphy monitoring in pediatric cardiac ICU patients to investigate the association between sleep characteristics and delirium development.
Design:
Prospective observational pilot study.
Setting:
Pediatric cardiac ICU in an academic children's hospital in the United States.
Patients:
Children admitted to the pediatric cardiac ICU after cardiac surgery.
Interventions:
None.
Measurements And Main Results:
Nineteen enrolled patients wore actigraphy watches that provided data for a total of 63 pediatric cardiac ICU days. The median pediatric cardiac ICU length of stay was 2 days (interquartile range, 1-3 d). The median sleep episode among all patients was 37 minutes in duration (interquartile range, 18-46 min), and the longest sleep episode was a median of 117 minutes (interquartile range, 69-144 min). Sixty-one percent of patients (95% CI, 36-83%) screened positive for delirium at least once during admission, and the median number of delirious days among those who were positive was 2 days (interquartile range, 1-3 d). The median percent sleep time was 43% for delirious patients and 49% for those with no delirium, with similar median sleep and longest sleep episodes. The median ratio of daytime activity/24-hr activity was 54% (interquartile range, 49-59%) in both groups.
Conclusions:
Actigraphy monitoring in conjunction with delirium screening is feasible in infants and children admitted to the pediatric cardiac ICU after cardiac surgery. Our data suggest that most children in the pediatric cardiac ICU experience severe sleep disruption and delirium is common. These pilot data provide important insights for the design of a large-scale observational study to investigate potential causal relationships between sleep disruption and delirium in the pediatric cardiac ICU.
More Related Videos
08:20Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
06:23A Chronic Sleep Fragmentation Model using Vibrating Orbital Rotor to Induce Cognitive Deficit and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Young Wild-Type Mice
Published on: September 22, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:18Nightmares and Night Terrors
Nightmares...
01:28Cardiomyopathy VII: Pre and Post Operative Nursing Management