Team-based approach successful at reducing alarm fatigue

A standardized cardiac monitor care process (CMCP) was used in a 24-bed pediatric bone marrow transplant unit to decrease cardiac monitor alarms per patient day, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. Excessive cardiac monitor alarms have been found to lead to desensitization and alarm fatigue.

The CMCP included a process for initial ordering of monitor parameters based on age-appropriate standards, pain-free daily electrode replacement, daily assessment of cardiac monitor parameters, and a reliable method for discontinuation of monitors. The study was held from January to November 2013 and compliance with each of the four CMCP components increased. As a result, overall compliance with the CMCP increased from a median of 38% to 95% and the median number of alarms per patient day decreased from 180 to 40.

Read about the study here.