Papers by A.P. Garrido Galindo
Objective: To evaluate the noise level in adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units ofa ... more Objective: To evaluate the noise level in adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units ofa university hospital in the city of Santa Marta (Colombia).Design: A descriptive, observational, non-interventional study with follow-up over time wascarried out.Materials and methods: Continuous sampling was conducted for 20 days for each unit usinga type i sound level meter, filter frequency in A weighting and Fast mode. We recorded themaximum values, the 90th percentile as background noise, and the continuous noise level.Results: The mean hourly levels in the adult unit varied between 57.40 ± 1.14-63.47 ± 2.13 dBA,with a maximum between 71.55 ± 2.32-77.22 ± 1.94 dBA, and a background noise between53.51 ± 1.16-60.26 ± 2.10 dBA; in the pediatric unit the mean hourly levels varied between57.07 ± 3.07-65.72 ± 2.46 dBA, with a maximum of 68.69 ± 3.57-79.06 ± 2.34 dBA, and a back-ground noise between 53.33 ± 3.54-61.96 ± 2.85 dBA; the neonatal unit in turn presentedmean hourly values between 59.54 ± 2.41-65.33 ± 1.77 dBA, with a maximum value between67.20 ± 2.13-77.65 ± 3.74 dBA, and a background noise between 55.02 ± 2.03-58.70 ± 1.95 dBA.Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between the hourly values and betweenthe different units, with the time of day exhibiting a greater influence.Conclusions: The type of unit affects the noise levels in intensive care units, the pediatricunit showing the highest values and the adult unit the lowest values. However, the parameterexerting the greatest influence upon noise level is the time of day, with higher levels in themorning and evening, and lower levels at night and in the early morning.
Uploads
Papers by A.P. Garrido Galindo