A systematic review with evidence mapping of alarm management interventions in intensive care units

This study aimed to map and characterize the evidence on alarm management through evidence mapping. It is hoped that future guidance will be provided for alarm management research.

A systematic search was conducted using electronic databases between January 2014 and December 2024. The Risk of Bias 2 and the ROBINS-I tools were applied to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. EndNote X9 and Excel were used for data extraction and analysis. The data were presented using bubble charts.

This analysis incorporates 18 articles meeting predefined eligibility criteria. These studies consist of randomized control trials (n = 2, 11.1%) and quasi-experimental trials (n = 16, 88.9%). A total of 18 intervention studies include 7 intervention strategies and 3 primary outcomes. The results of this study indicate that training and customizing alarms are the most effective strategies for decreasing alarm burden. However, all studies are judged to be at moderate-to-high risk of bias.

Alarm management shows a positive effect on alarm burden, nurses, and patient safety. However, higher-quality research is needed in the future to improve alarm management.

This study can serve as a reference for healthcare workers to formulate clinical alarm management intervention measures, thereby reducing the alarm fatigue of clinical nurses and lowering the occurrence of adverse events.