Vital sign monitors and ventilator/anesthesia workstations are equipped with multiple alarms to improve patient safety. A high number of false alarms can lead to a "crying wolf" phenomenon with consecutively ignored critical situations. Systematic data on alarm patterns and density in the perioperative phase are missing. Our objective of this study was to characterize the patterns of alarming of a commercially available patient monitor and a ventilator/anesthesia workstation during elective cardiac surgery.
Vital sign monitors and ventilator/anesthesia workstations are equipped with multiple alarms to improve patient safety. A high number of false alarms can lead to a "crying wolf" phenomenon with consecutively ignored critical situations. Systematic data on alarm patterns and density in the perioperative phase are missing. Our objective of this study was to characterize the patterns of alarming of a commercially available patient monitor and a ventilator/anesthesia workstation during elective cardiac surgery.