Study of sleep quality among patients admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit

Background Several factors may cause sleep disruption among critically ill patients. Determination of these factors that interfere with patients' quality of sleep is very important in the treatment process to ensure normal sleep process. Objective The aim was to assess the quality of sleep among critically ill patients admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) and identify the risk factors. Materials and methods This observational study was carried out on all patients who were admitted to the RICU. Patients' age, gender, duration of ICU stay, cause of admission, and scores for the severity of illness on admission including Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment were done. A Freedman questionnaire was determined twice: at the RICU and at home to evaluate sleep quality and the contributing factors. Results One hundred patients were enrolled in this study. The mean ICU stay was 5.41 +/- 2.03 days; 82% of them were admitted for the first time to the RICU. The mean score of sleep quality of patients at the RICU was 4.38 +/- 1.83, which was significantly reduced compared with the mean score at home post-admission 8.30 +/- 1.09 (P<0.001). Noise (7.60 +/- 1.40) was the main sleep disruptive factor in the RICU; hospital staff conversations (7.77 +/- 1.38) and medical staff pagers and phones (7.42 +/- 1.53) were the maximum noises. Frequent use of light is the second influential factor for sleep disruption (6.82 +/- 1.31), followed by nursing interventions and blood sampling. Conclusion Due to the poor sleep quality during hospitalization and due to the presence of a wide range of sleep disturbing factors such as noise, light, and nursing activities, nursing education, using eye shields, and ear plugs might reduce environmental noise and improve sleep quality.