Alarm Fatigue Across Critical Care Domains: Comparative Insights and Independent Predictors From a Cross-Sectional Multicenter Survey Study

OBJECTIVES: Alarm fatigue, the desensitization to excessive false alarms, threatens patient safety and staff performance across critical care domains. It is unclear whether alarm fatigue differs between hospital departments. This study compared alarm fatigue among staff in the ICU, cardiac telemetry ward (CTW), and operating room (OR), and, secondarily, identified its independent determinants. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, multicenter survey study. SETTING: ICUs, a CTW, and ORs. PATIENTS: A total of 514 healthcare professionals working in the ICU, CTW, and OR. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Alarm fatigue was assessed using the Dutch-translated Charité Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire, which includes alarm stress and alarm coping subscales. Participants also rated their self-perceived alarm fatigue on a 1-10 scale and the percentage of perceived false alarms. Telemetry staff reported the highest self-perceived alarm fatigue (B = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.06-1.24; p = 0.032) and perceived false alarms (B = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.23-1.30; p = 0.005), while OR staff reported the lowest (B = -1.01; 95% CI, -1.59 to -0.43; p < 0.001). Second, physicians (B = -0.13; 95% CI, -0.25 to -0.01; p < 0.031) and less experienced staff (< 3 mo; B = -0.34; 95% CI, -0.68 to -0.01; p = 0.046) reported lower alarm fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Alarm fatigue varied significantly across departments and professions, being highest in telemetry staff and lowest among physicians and less experienced personnel. Targeted department-specific interventions and longitudinal research are necessary to mitigate alarm fatigue and enhance patient safety.