ArticleBMJ open2018
Does the architectural layout of a NICU affect alarm pressure? A comparative clinical audit of a single-family room and an open bay area NICU using a retrospective study design.
Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effects of the introduction of the single-family room in neonatal and paediatric intensive care on the outcomes of paediatric patients, families, staff, and organizations: a mixed method systematic review.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Crying wolf, alarm safety and management in paediatrics: A scoping review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Caregivers' response to cardiorespiratory events in preterm infants in the NICU - A quantitative overview.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Observational
- Excessive Noise in Neonatal Units and the Occupational Stress Experienced by Healthcare Professionals: An Assessment of Burnout and Measurement of Cortisol Levels.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Multicentre paired non-inferiority study of the cardiorespiratory monitoring performance of the wireless and non-adhesive Bambi® belt measuring diaphragm activity in neonates: study protocol.BMJ paediatrics open · 2022Article
- Optimisation of clinical workflow and monitor settings safely reduces alarms in the NICU.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2021Article
- Predictive Monitoring of Critical Cardiorespiratory Alarms in Neonates Under Intensive Care.IEEE journal of translational engineering in health and medicine · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo determine differences in alarm pressure between two otherwise comparable neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) differing in architectural layout-one of a single-family room (SFR) design and the other of an open bay area (OBA) design.
designRetrospective audit of more than 2000 patient days from each NICU cataloguing the differences in the number and duration of alarms for critical and alerting alarms, as well as the interaction of clinicians with the patient monitor.
settingTwo level 3 NICUs.
resultsA total of more than 150 000 critical and 1.2 million alerting alarms were acquired from the two NICUs. The number of audible alarms and the associated noise pollution varied considerably with the OBA NICU generating 44% more alarms per infant per day even though the SFR NICU generated 2.5 as many critical desaturation alarms per infant per day.
conclusionDifferences in the architectural layout of NICUs and the consequent differences in delays, thresholds and distribution systems for alarms are associated with differences in alarm pressure.
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Registered trials
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