2026-05-05T21:09:34Zhttps://uvadoc.uva.es/oai/request

oai:uvadoc.uva.es:10324/601982023-07-10T19:00:31Zcom_10324_1157com_10324_931com_10324_894col_10324_1298

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Althahab, Awwab Qasim Jumaah author Vuksanovic, Branislav author Al-Mosawi, Mohamed author Machimbarrena Gutiérrez, María de la O author Arias, Roi author 2022 Intensive care units (ICUs) are busy and noisy areas where patients and professional staff can be exposed to acoustic noise for long periods of time. In many cases, noise levels significantly exceed the levels recommended by the official health organisations. This situation can affect not only patient recovery but also professional staff, making ICUs unhealthy work and treatment environments. To introduce the measures and reduce the acoustic noise in the ICU, acoustic noise levels should first be measured and then appropriately analysed. However, in most studies dealing with this problem, measurements have been performed manually over short periods, leading to limited data being collected. They are usually followed by insufficient analysis, which in turn results in inadequate measures and noise reduction. This paper reviews recent works dealing with the problem of excessively high noise levels in ICUs and proposes a more thorough analysis of measured data both in the time and frequency domains. Applied frequency domain analysis identifies the cyclic behaviour of the measured sound pressure levels (SPLs) and detects the dominant frequency components in the SPL time series. Moreover, statistical analyses are produced to depict the patterns and SPLs to which patients in ICUs are typically exposed during their stay in the ICU. It has been shown that the acoustic environment is very similar every night, while it can vary significantly during the day or evening periods. However, during most of the observed time, recorded SPLs were significantly above the prescribed values, indicating an urgent need for their control and reduction. To effectively tackle this problem, more detailed information about the nature of noise during each of the analysed periods of the day is needed. This issue will be addressed in the continuation of this project. Sensors, 2022, Vol. 22, Nº. 23, 9038 1424-8220 https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/60198 10.3390/s22239038 9038 23 Sensors 22 1424-8220 Intensive care units Cuidados intensivos, Unidades de Critical care medicine Cuidados intensivos Noise Noise control Ruido, Lucha contra el Fourier analysis Fourier, Transformaciones de Algoritmos Estadística descriptiva Análisis estadístico Statistics Noise in ICUs: Review and detailed analysis of long-term SPL monitoring in ICUs in northern Spain