Key result
A scoping review of 44 studies identified clinical education and alarm customisation as the most common interventions for ICU alarm management, yielding 150 recommendations for collaborative improvement.
Why the study?
Increasing medical device alarms in the ICU cause excessive noise and frequent nonactionable alerts associated with alarm fatigue in nurses, prompting a need to explore management interventions and recommendations.
What are the interventions and recommendations for alarm management of medical devices in the ICU environment?
What are the interventions and recommendations for alarm management of medical devices in the ICU environment?
Managing clinical alarms in the ICU requires a multifaceted approach including clinical education, alarm customization, and multidisciplinary collaboration to mitigate alarm fatigue.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Alarm management interventions in ICU lack standardization; review leaves open need for prospective trials before practice change.
BACKGROUND: The presence of medical device alarms in the intensive care unit (ICU) has increased significantly over the past decade due to technological advancements. A troubling paradox is that while alarms are designed to keep patients safe, the overabundance of noise and frequency of nonactionable alarms is associated with alarm fatigue in nurses. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to explore and describe the interventions and recommendations for alarm management of medical devices in the ICU environment. METHODS: This scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. DATA SOURCES: Data sources included APA PsycINFO (Ovid), EBSCO CINAHL, Elsevier Embase, Emcare (Ovid), Epistemonikos, MEDLINE (Ovid), PROSPERO, Elsevier Scopus (Ovid), and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2024 and supplemented with hand searching of references from included studies. RESULTS: A total of 44 studies met the inclusion criteria: 28 were quantitative, 12 were qualitative, and four were mixed-method studies. The most common intervention utilised for the management of medical device alarms was clinical education followed by alarm customisation. A total of 150 recommendations to manage medical device alarms were made that were themed into a collaborative framework to guide improvements. CONCLUSIONS: There is no single or easy intervention that will address the management of clinical alarms in the ICU. There is a strong need for shared responsibility across the critical care faculty that requires effective collaboration, ongoing involvement, and vigilance across whole multidisciplinary ICU team.
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Leigh et al. (2026) conducted a review in Medical device alarms in the intensive care unit (n=44). Alarm management interventions (clinical education, alarm customisation) was evaluated on Interventions and recommendations for alarm management. A scoping review of 44 studies identified clinical education and alarm customisation as the most common interventions for ICU alarm management, yielding 150 recommendations for collaborative improvement.
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