Evaluation of the sensory environment in a large tertiary ICU

Oystein Tronstad, Dylan Flaws, Sue Patterson, Robert Holdsworth, Veronica Garcia-Hansen, Francisca Rodriguez Leonard, Ruth Ong, Stephanie Yerkovich & John F. Fraser. Crit Care DOI 10.1186/s13054-023-04744-8

Background: ICU survival is improving. However, many patients leave ICU with ongoing cognitive, physical, and/or psychological impairments and reduced quality of life. Many of the reasons for these ongoing problems are unmodifiable; however, some are linked with the ICU environment. Suboptimal lighting and excessive noise contribute to a loss of circadian rhythms and sleep disruptions, leading to increased mortality and morbidity. Despite long-standing awareness of these problems, meaningful ICU redesign is yet to be realised, and the ‘ideal’ ICU design is likely to be unique to local context and patient cohorts. To inform the co-design of an improved ICU environment, this study completed a detailed evaluation of the ICU environment, focussing on acoustics, sound, and light.