Frequency of false electrocardiogram alarms in the intensive care unit/coronary care unit

The purpose of this study was to determine how often a false electrocardiogram (ECG) alarm occurred in an intensive care unit (ICU) or coronary care unit (CCU). Nine patients were monitored for 12-1/2 hours. The false alarms that occurred were documented and the cause was noted. Five patients were male with a mean age of 64 years, and four were female with a mean age of 57. Two patients were studied in the Respiratory (RICU), two in the Thoracic (TICU), and five in the CCU. The investigator studied whether a monitor could be developed that would be able to decrease the false alarm frequency by using a multiple ECG signal system, or a multiple physiologic signal system with the addition of an arterial pressure waveform. Fourteen false alarms occurred during the monitoring period with one true alarm. The frequency of false alarms was 4.2 in the RICU, 12.6 in the TICU, and 10.5 in the CCU; showing a much higher rate of false alarms per patient in the RICU. The frequency of false alarms could have been reduced by 60% with the addition of a multiple ECG signal system. Use of a multiple physiologic signal system however, would eliminate all of the false alarms and, therefore, would be a better system. No monitor that utilizes such a system has been developed, but it would be a great benefit to reduce the stress and noise level in the ICU/CCU.