Assessing the Impact of Monitor Maintenance Package Utilization

May 3, 2024 updated by: Ogretim Uyesi Serpil Topcu, Istanbul Demiroglu Bilim University

Assessing the Impact of Monitor Maintenance Package Utilization on Patient Monitor Alarms and Nurse Alarm Fatigue

Bedside monitors are frequently used in monitoring vital signs of critically ill patients. Nurses working in healthcare facilities, especially in intensive care units, are required to manage devices with different alarm threshold values, categories, and types of alerts, leading to alarm fatigue. In response to this serious threat to patient safety, the FDA and The Joint Commission worked to develop strategies to address alarm fatigue in 2011. Alarm monitoring, identification of the cause, and silencing are typically performed by nurses. When reviewing alarm control studies in the literature, the CEASE care package developed by Levis et al. in 2019 was encountered. The tool was developed for personalized clinical alarm monitoring for the patient.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Detailed Description

Bedside monitors are frequently used in monitoring vital signs of critically ill patients. Patient monitors assist healthcare professionals in continuous monitoring of basic vital signs such as EKG (electrocardiogram), blood pressure, pulse oximetry, respiration, as well as advanced hemodynamic parameters like central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressure. These devices alert healthcare personnel visually and audibly in case of any abnormality in the monitored parameters. According to the Sentinel Event Alert report published by The Joint Commission (TJC) in 2013, each unit can receive thousands of alarm alerts in a single day. It is stated that 85% to 99% of these alarms are either not related to the patient's clinical condition, false, or do not require any action. This situation leads to necessary alarms being silenced, ignored, or muted, thereby threatening patient safety. Thousands of patient injuries and deaths have been reported due to alarm system errors. The main reasons for alarm errors include failure to recognize the alarm, desensitization in nurses, inadequate training in monitor usage, decreased response time to alarms, deficiencies in device interface design, equipment failures, and staff shortages. Monitor alarms occur in a hierarchy of high, medium, and low priority. Each hierarchical alarm produces a different auditory tone. Clinicians use these alarm tones to determine the urgency level and appropriate alarm response. When clinically irrelevant alarms occur more frequently, there is a higher likelihood of overall alarm fatigue. Nurses working in healthcare facilities, especially in intensive care units, are required to manage devices with different alarm threshold values, categories, and types of alerts, leading to alarm fatigue. Alarm fatigue is defined as healthcare workers becoming desensitized and indifferent to many recurring or simultaneous alarm sounds. In response to this serious threat to patient safety, the FDA and The Joint Commission worked to develop strategies to address alarm fatigue in 2011. The published report emphasizes the need to identify the problem clinically and develop solution strategies tailored to the problem, to be implemented alongside general standard interventions. The report primarily focuses on adjusting alarm parameters appropriately and establishing clinic-specific protocols and procedures. Alarm monitoring, identification of the cause, and silencing are typically performed by nurses. When reviewing alarm control studies in the literature, the CEASE care package developed by Levis et al. in 2019 was encountered. The tool was developed for personalized clinical alarm monitoring for the patient. The name CEASE is formed by combining the initials of the words Communication, Electrodes, Appropriateness, Setup, and Education. Researchers found a decrease in the number of monitor alarms and alarm fatigue levels in nurses after using the CEASE care package. More supportive studies are needed for the widespread adoption of this package in clinics. In this study, the investigators aimed to demonstrate a reduction in unnecessary alarm counts and a decrease in nurse alarm fatigue levels with the use of the CEASE care package.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

142

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Şişli
      • İstanbul, Şişli, Turkey, 34394
        • Demiroglu Bilim University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Working in the intensive care unit,
  • Willing to participate in the study voluntarily,
  • Nurses willing to use the monitor alarm control tool (for intervention group).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Nurses who leave the intensive care unit during the data collection process and those who do not use the monitor alarm control tool

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental group
  • Working in the intensive care unit,
  • Willing to participate in the study voluntarily,
  • Nurses willing to use the monitor alarm control tool.
Before the intervention, the intervention group will first undergo the 'Nurse Identification Form' and the 'Alarm Fatigue Scale'. The current root cause analysis of monitor alarms in the clinical setting will be conducted through the 'CEASE Care Package' and the 'Current Situation Analysis Form'. Each patient monitor in the intensive care unit will be observed and recorded by two observers for a period of 24 hours.The Monitor Alarm Control Tool - "Remember Me" will be attached beneath each monitor to facilitate easier monitoring by nurses. Nurses are expected to use the tool for a period of 15 days. After intervention; Two observers will conduct a re-evaluation using the "CEASE Care Package" and the "Current Status Analysis Form". Monitor alarms will be continuously assessed and recorded for 24 hours. Following the completion of this stage, the "Alarm Fatigue Scale" will be reapplied to the intervention group.
No Intervention: Control group
  • Working in the intensive care unit,
  • Willing to participate in the study voluntarily,

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The use of the CEASE care package tool will result in a decrease in the number of alarms in the intensive care unit end of the 3 weeks.
Time Frame: 2 months
This outcome will measured by Current Situation Analysis Form and CEASE care package tool.
2 months
The use of the CEASE care package tool will lead to a reduction in alarm fatigue levels end of the 3 weeks.
Time Frame: 2 months
This outcome will measured by alarm fatigue scale.
2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 15, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 15, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 29, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2024

Last Verified

May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Remember Me Tool

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Researchers may share IPD data after the completion and publication of the study.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Patient Safety

Clinical Trials on Experimental group: CEASE Care Package and Remember Me Tool

Subscribe