Acute Crit Care.  2023 Aug;38(3):278-285. 10.4266/acc.2023.00514.

Factors influencing sleep quality in the intensive care unit: a descriptive pilot study in Korea

• Ahn YH
• Lee HY
• Lee SM
• Lee J

• KMID: 2547021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2023.00514

Abstract

Background
As sleep disturbances are common in the intensive care unit (ICU), this study assessed the sleep quality in the ICU and identified barriers to sleep.
Methods
Patients admitted to the ICUs of a tertiary hospital between June 2022 and December 2022 who were not mechanically ventilated at enrollment were included. The quality of sleep (QoS) at home was assessed on a visual analog scale as part of an eight-item survey, while the QoS in the ICU was evaluated using the Korean version of the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (K-RCSQ). Good QoS was defined by a score of ≥50.
Results
Of the 30 patients in the study, 19 reported a QoS score <50. The Spearman correlation coefficient showed no meaningful relationship between the QoS at home and the overall K-RCSQ QoS score in the ICU (r=0.16, P=0.40). The most common barriers to sleep were physical discomfort (43%), being awoken for procedures (43%), and feeling unwell (37%); environmental factors including noise (30%) and light (13%) were also identified sources of sleep disruption. Physical discomfort (median [interquartile range]: 32 [28.0–38.0] vs. 69 [42.0–80.0], P=0.004), being awoken for procedures (36 [20.0–48.0] vs. 54 [36.0–80.0], P=0.04), and feeling unwell (31 [18.0–42.0] vs. 54 [40.0–76.0], P=0.01) were associated with lower K-RCSQ scores.
Conclusions
In the ICU, physical discomfort, patient care interactions, and feeling unwell were identified as barriers to sleep.

Keyword

critically ill; intensive care unit; sleep quality; survey

Figure

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  Figure 1. Self-reported barriers to sleep in the intensive care unit.

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