A Review: The effect of using earplug on nocturnal sleep of the patients hospitalized in cardiac intensive care units Download PDF

Background and Objectives: Noise is one of the main problems of intensive care units. Most often, noise from equipment, alarms, conversations between the personnel, and ringing of the phone disturbs the patients’ sleep. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the effect of using earplug on the nocturnal sleep of the patients hospitalized in cardiac intensive care units. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 40 qualified patients were randomly divided into a control and an earplug group. The data were collected using demographic information questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), numeric pain scale, and Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire (LSEQ). Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v. 16) and analyzed using T-test and chi-square test. Results: The results showed that after the intervention, the mean score of overall sleep was 4.8+0.5 in the control group and 5.6+1.1 in the earplug group and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.003). Conclusion: According to the study results, using earplug improved the sleep quality of the patients hospitalized in cardiac intensive care units.