Sources of Sound Exposure in Pediatric Critical Care.
Laura Beth Kalvas, Tondi M Harrison
PMID 38688851WHAT IT FOUND
Family, clinician, and child vocalizations were the main human sound sources in the PICU, while media was the most common environmental source.
Medical equipment and clinician activity drove the loudest sound peaks, which occurred mostly during the day.
Key findings
01Family vocalizations, clinician vocalizations, and child non-verbal vocalizations were the most common human sources of sound in the PICU.
02Media was the most common environmental source of sound, present in over half of all observed hours.
03During sound peaks above 70 dBA, child non-verbal vocalizations, clinician vocalizations, and medical equipment were the most prevalent sources.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 12 children with low severity of illness at a single academic hospital, limiting generalizability. Video observation could not capture sounds occurring off-screen. The simplified coding scheme and 1-minute sampling interval may have missed some sound sources or their temporal relationships. The dosimeter placement did not account for times when children were out of bed.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research (R21NR018637) and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume media is a primary cause of high sound levels. Although media was present in over half of all observed hours, its prevalence did not differ significantly between high and low sound level periods, suggesting it contributes to background noise but not necessarily to disruptive peaks.