Clinical research to identify effective interventions for decreasing nonactionable alarms has been limited. The objective of this study was to determine if a staff educational program on customizing alarm settings on bedside monitors decreased alarms in a medical intensive care unit (MICU). A preintervention, postintervention, nonequivalent group design was used to evaluate an educational program on alarm management in a convenience sample of MICU nurses. A 15-minute session was provided in a 1-week period. The outcome variable (number of alarms for low oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry [SpO2]) was determined from monitor log files adjusted by patient census. Data were collected for 15 days before and after the intervention. χ2 analysis was used, with P less than .05 considered significant. After 1 week of education, low SpO2 alarms decreased from 502 to 306 alarms per patient monitored per day, a 39% reduction (P < .001). Instructions for nurses in the medical intensive care unit on individualizing alarm settings to patients’ clinical condition decreased common monitor alarms by 39%.
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1 July 2016
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July 01 2016
Clinical Trial of an Educational Program to Decrease Monitor Alarms in a Medical Intensive Care Unit
Arian Brantley, APRN, MS, NP-C, ACCNS-AG;
Arian Brantley, APRN, MS, NP-C, ACCNS-AG
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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Sandra Collins-Brown, RN, BSN;
Sandra Collins-Brown, RN, BSN
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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Jasmine Kirkland, RN, BSN;
Jasmine Kirkland, RN, BSN
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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Meghan Knapp, RN, BSN;
Meghan Knapp, RN, BSN
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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Jackie Pressley, RN, BSN;
Jackie Pressley, RN, BSN
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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Melinda Higgins, PhD;
Melinda Higgins, PhD
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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James P. McMurtry, APRN, MSN, CNS-BC, CCRN
James P. McMurtry, APRN, MSN, CNS-BC, CCRN
Arian Brantley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra Collins-Brown is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmine Kirkland is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Meghan Knapp is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Jackie Pressley is Staff Nurse, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Melinda Higgins is Associate Research Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. James P. McMurtry is Clinical Nurse Specialist, 71 Intensive Care Unit, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, 550 Peachtree St, NE, Atlanta GA 30308 ([email protected]).
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AACN Adv Crit Care (2016) 27 (3): 283–289.
Citation
Arian Brantley, Sandra Collins-Brown, Jasmine Kirkland, Meghan Knapp, Jackie Pressley, Melinda Higgins, James P. McMurtry; Clinical Trial of an Educational Program to Decrease Monitor Alarms in a Medical Intensive Care Unit. AACN Adv Crit Care 1 July 2016; 27 (3): 283–289. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/aacnacc2016110
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