The proportion of clinically relevant alarms decreases as patient clinical severity decreases in intensive care units: a pilot study.

Objectives: To determine (1) the proportion and number of clinically relevant alarms based on the type of monitoring device; (2) whether patient clinical severity, based on the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, affects the proportion of clinically relevant alarms and to suggest; (3) methods for reducing clinically irrelevant alarms in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Design: A prospective, observational clinical study.

Setting: A medical ICU at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Tokyo, Japan.