Noise in ICUs: Review and Detailed Analysis of Long-Term SPL Monitoring in ICUs in Northern Spain

Abstract

Intensive care units (ICUs) are busy and noisy areas where patients and professional staff can be exposed to acoustic noise for long periods of time. In many cases, noise levels significantly exceed the levels recommended by the official health organisations. This situation can affect not only patient recovery but also professional staff, making ICUs unhealthy work and treatment environments. To introduce the measures and reduce the acoustic noise in the ICU, acoustic noise levels should first be measured and then appropriately analysed. However, in most studies dealing with this problem, measurements have been performed manually over short periods, leading to limited data being collected. They are usually followed by insufficient analysis, which in turn results in inadequate measures and noise reduction. This paper reviews recent works dealing with the problem of excessively high noise levels in ICUs and proposes a more thorough analysis of measured data both in the time and frequency domains. Applied frequency domain analysis identifies the cyclic behaviour of the measured sound pressure levels (SPLs) and detects the dominant frequency components in the SPL time series. Moreover, statistical analyses are produced to depict the patterns and SPLs to which patients in ICUs are typically exposed during their stay in the ICU. It has been shown that the acoustic environment is very similar every night, while it can vary significantly during the day or evening periods. However, during most of the observed time, recorded SPLs were significantly above the prescribed values, indicating an urgent need for their control and reduction. To effectively tackle this problem, more detailed information about the nature of noise during each of the analysed periods of the day is needed. This issue will be addressed in the continuation of this project.

Excessive Noise in Neonatal Units and the Occupational Stress Experienced by Healthcare Professionals: An Assessment of Burnout and Measurement of Cortisol Levels

“…This study revealed elevated levels of noise in the investigated Brazilian NICU, consistent with findings from other published literature [19,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…Our findings are consistent with a study conducted in a Spanish neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which assessed noise levels over a 20-day period. The Spanish study found that noise consistently remained high across morning, afternoon, and night shifts, with minor fluctuations between shifts [19].…”

“…Similarly, Rojas-González et al (2004) observed that professionals in the brewing industry exposed to noise exhibited elevated cortisol levels at the end of their work shifts and reported extra-auditory symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, and arterial hypertension [17]. Studies involving health professionals working in intensive care units exposed to high noise levels have consistently reported experiencing mental and physical disturbances related to their work environment, with negative consequences for their health [4,10,14,18,19].…”