Patient-environment interactions in critical care

This article examines patient-environment interactions in critical care from the perspective of chronobiology. Critically ill patients have reduced control over an environment that they cannot leave voluntarily. These patients have endogenous biologic rhythms that were synchronized to their prehospitalization environment. They exhibit transient physiologic responses to environmental stimuli, and their biologic rhythms may be re-entrained by patterns of stimuli that are different from their customary environment. Nursing interventions based on principles of chronobiology may optimize patient-environment interactions in critical care settings.