Patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) often become confused ordelirious soon after, or within a few days of admittance to theICU. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care , shows that use of earplugs can result in better sleep (asreported by the patients), lower the incidence of confusion, anddelay the onset of cognitive disturbances. Patients in the ICU are thought to suffer confusion and deliriumdue to sensory overload. Part of this is due to the physicalinjuries and sensations of the patients, and part due to theirenvironment. Sound in the ICU has been a subject of research for several years.There is contestant noise due to equipment and people coming andgoing. However, patients complain that it is not so much the levelof noise, but the interruptions, due to phones ringing and peopletalking, which is the most disturbing. Not surprisingly, studieshave shown that the sleep of patients in ICU is severely fragmentedwith a corresponding lack of slow wave and REM sleep. While it is not practicable to have silent equipment (and patientsneed checking at regular intervals), researchers from theUniversity of Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital investigatedthe use of earplugs to reduce the amount of noise experienced bythe patients as they slept. As a result of this simple solution, the researchers found thatstarting to use earplugs within the first 24 hours of entering ICUdecreased the patient's risk for delirium or confusion by over 50%.They also noticed that patients sleeping with earplugs developedconfusion and delirium later than patients without. After the firstnight, more of the patients with earplugs reported a better night'ssleep. Prof Bart van Rompaey, who led this study, explained: "The greatest improvement was observed in the risk of confusion,and seems to be strongest within the first 48 hours of admittanceto the ICU. Delirium is a multifactorial process and, in our study,was also influenced by age, smoking, and severity of disease.Nevertheless the beneficial effect of earplugs in the ICU,especially in the first few days, clearly demonstrates theadvantage of using them. Earplugs are a cheap and easy to use meansof improving a patients sleep and preventing confusion." Written By Petra Rattue Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Movable LED Display Manufacturer , Curtain LED Display Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Outdoor Full Color Led Display.
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