Factors that affect sleep quality: perceptions made by patients in the intensive care unit after thoracic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: This study identifies factors affecting sleep patterns among thoracic surgery patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and compares the perceptions of sleep-disturbing factors between nurses and patients. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-two patients and 40 nurses were surveyed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and self-designed questionnaires (for patients and nurses). All statistical analyses were carried out by SPSS, and the following statistical methods were used to evaluate the data: chi-squared test and logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 152 patients, 46.1 % reported poor sleep quality during their hospitalization; their PSQI total score was 6.95 ± 3.713. Of these, 69.1 % indicated that their sleep quality was poorer than before; 50.0 % of them changed their sleep patterns. Significant discrepancies exist between nurses and patients in the perceptions of sleep-disturbing factors of patients. CONCLUSION: Thoracic surgical patients' perceptions of their sleep in the ICU indicate poor sleep quality, which is decided by a variety of disturbing factors. Perceptions of these factors varied greatly between surveyed patients and nurses.