Reducing Cardiac Telemetry Nuisance Alarms Through Evidence-Based Interventions

Critical Care Alarm Fatigue and Monitor Customization: Alarm Frequencies and Context Factors

BACKGROUND

Alarm fatigue among nurses working in the intensive care unit has garnered considerable attention as a national patient safety priority. A viable solution for reducing the frequency of alarms and unnecessary noise is intensive care unit alarm monitor customization.

LOCAL PROBLEM

A 24-bed cardiovascular and thoracic surgery intensive care unit in a large academic medical center identified a high rate of alarms and associated noise as a problem contributing to nurse alarm fatigue.

METHODS

An alarm monitor quality improvement project used both alarm frequency and nurse surveys before and after implementation to determine the effectiveness of interventions. Multimodal interventions included nurse training sessions, informational flyers, organizational policies, and an alarm monitor training video. Unexpected results inspired an extensive investigation and secondary analysis, which included examining the data-capturing capabilities of the alarm monitors and the impact of context factors.

RESULTS

Alarm frequencies unexpectedly increased after the intervention. The software data-capturing features of the alarm monitors for determining frequency did not accurately measure nurse interactions with monitors. Measured increases in patient census, nurse staffing, and data input from medical devices from before to after the intervention substantially affected project results.

CONCLUSIONS

Alarm frequencies proved an unreliable measure of nurse skills and practices in alarm customization. Documented changes in context factors provided strong anecdotal evidence of changed circumstances that clarified project results and underscored the critical importance of contemporaneous collection of context data. Designs and methods used in quality improvement projects must include reliable outcome measures to achieve meaningful results.

The effect of educational interventions in managing nurses' alarm fatigue: An integrative review

BACKGROUND

Alarm fatigue is becoming more widely acknowledged as a serious safety concern in modern clinical practice. Nurses are not always proficient in the alarms' functions and capabilities, and they do not undertake training regularly. Educating nurses on alarms maintains their knowledge and abilities in complex clinical settings. Some education has been undertaken to improve clinical alarm response, but the evidence for evaluating the effectiveness of nurse education interventions is limited.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effects of educational interventions for reducing alarm fatigue in nurses, including the reduction of excessive, false and non-actionable alarms, which are major factors causing alarm fatigue in nurses.

DATA SOURCES

PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS and OVID databases were systematically searched from 2016 to 2021.

DESIGN

Integrative Review.

REVIEW METHODS

An integrative review of literature was performed using the PRISMA checklist. Critical appraisal was done using Joanna Briggs Institute level of evidence.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The results of most studies showed that educational intervention was beneficial for reducing the total number of alarms and false alarms. Furthermore, nurses' perceptions and knowledge improved, but the reduction in nurses' alarm fatigue is uncertain. A positive effect in alarm management practices was identified after the educational intervention.

CONCLUSION

Educational intervention may be the way to manage nurses' alarm fatigue. The use of medical devices in hospitals is increasing exponentially, and for this reason, alarms are inevitable. The introduction of effective and continuous education and training programs for nurses concerning clinical alarm management as well as raising nurses' awareness of the occurrence of alarm fatigue is vital.

Determining the Impact of an Alarm Management Program on Alarm Fatigue among ICU and Telemetry RNs: An Evidence Based Research Project

This evidence-based research project provides an appraisal of current research on how an alarm management program impacts alarm fatigue among registered nurses (RNs) in both intensive care units (ICUs) and telemetry units. Alarm fatigue is a major problem recognized by both the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and the Joint Commission. RNs are the primary caretakers of critically ill patients in ICUs and telemetry units and therefore are at the greatest risk for alarm fatigue. The researchers performed an evidence synthesis to determine the impact of an alarm management program on alarm fatigue among ICU and telemetry RNs. A literature search was conducted using scientific databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, Trip, Cochrane Review, and Google Scholar. Our search strategy included the following terms: adult registered nurse, inpatient registered nurse, ICU registered nurses, RNs, Nurse Practitioners, alarm fatigue, alarm management strategy, education, cardiac monitor alarm, alarm strategies, alarm bundle, telemetry alarm, and cardiac monitor. Any studies involving the pediatric population, pulse oximeter alarms, and ventilator alarms were excluded. Due to the lack of available randomized control trials and cohort studies, the authors included two quality improvement (QI) projects. Finally, six studies were taken into consideration for review. The authors appraised each of the six articles using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist (CASP) Tool. This tool allowed the authors to synthesize information based on the outcomes and determine the level of the evidence of each article in order to make evidence-based practice recommendations on implementing alarm management programs. Conclusion: Despite extensive literature highlighting the astronomical prevalence of alarm fatigue in RNs, there was a lack of current high-quality data related to implementing alarm management programs. Therefore, more research is needed to support the utilization of alarm management programs in ICUs and telemetry units to improve alarm fatigue among RNs.