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Clinical Investigations In Critical CareIdentification and Modification of Environmental Noise in an ICU Setting
Section snippets
Site Selection
This study was conducted in two phases at Rhode Island Hospital, a 720-bed university-based teaching hospital in Providence, RI. The specific locations within the hospital for the sound measurements were chosen based on a previous study done at Rhode Island Hospital by Meyers et al,1 which evaluated sound levels in four different settings throughout the hospital and found that sound was consistently elevated above the EPA's recommended levels. The present study took place from August 1995
Noise Identification
We were able to identify 12 individual noises that contributed to the high peak sound levels. The mean peak sound levels for these noises ranged from 74.8 to 84.6 dBA. Table 2 lists these noises with the percent occurrence and mean peak sound levels detected. The miscellaneous category encompasses noises such as suctioning, banging, coughing, and alarms that didn't occur frequently enough to separate them out. Fifty-one percent of the noises identified were potentially modifiable, with
Discussion
Several important issues regarding environmental noise were highlighted in this study. First, we demonstrated again that sound levels in our hospital are extremely high. This corresponds to sound measurements obtained in previous studies at our hospital.1, 2 In one study, we found the mean peak sound level in our MICU to be 83.6 dBA.1 Our study showed slightly lower, but still very high, mean peak sound levels in the MICU (80.0 dBA). Environmental noise in hospitals has received attention in
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Supported in part by a grant from the Respiratory Therapy Saklad Fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital.