The association of sleep quality, delirium, and sedation status with daily participation in physical therapy in the ICU.

BACKGROUND: Poor sleep is common in the ICU setting and may represent a modifiable risk factor for patient participation in ICU-based physical therapy (PT) interventions. This study evaluates the association of perceived sleep quality, delirium, sedation, and other clinically important patient and ICU factors with participation in physical therapy (PT) interventions. METHOD: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of sleep in a single academic medical ICU (MICU). Perceived sleep quality was assessed using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) and delirium was assessed using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU). Other covariates included demographics, pre-hospitalization ambulation status, ICU admission diagnosis, daily mechanical ventilation status, and daily administration of benzodiazepines and opioids via bolus and continuous infusion. Associations with participation in PT interventions were assessed among patients eligible for PT using a multinomial Markov model with robust variance estimates. RESULTS: Overall, 327 consecutive MICU patients completed ≥1 assessment of perceived sleep quality. After adjusting for all covariates, daily assessment of perceived sleep quality was not associated with transitioning to participate in PT the following day (relative risk ratio [RRR] 1.02, 95 % CI 0.96-1.07, p = 0.55). However, the following factors had significant negative associations with participating in subsequent PT interventions: delirium (RRR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.41-0.76, p <0.001), opioid boluses (RRR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.47-0.99, p = 0.04), and continuous sedation infusions (RRR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.40-0.85, p = 0.01). Additionally, in patients with delirium, benzodiazepine boluses further reduced participation in subsequent PT interventions (RRR 0.25, 95 % CI 0.13-0.50, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived sleep quality was not associated with participation in PT interventions the following day. However, continuous sedation infusions, opioid boluses, and delirium, particularly when occurring with administration of benzodiazepine boluses, were negatively associated with subsequent PT interventions and represent important modifiable factors for increasing participation in ICU-based PT interventions.

Delirium transitions in the medical ICU: exploring the role of sleep quality and other factors.

OBJECTIVES: Disrupted sleep is a common and potentially modifiable risk factor for delirium in the ICU. As part of a quality improvement project to promote sleep in the ICU, we examined the association of perceived sleep quality ratings and other patient and ICU risk factors with daily transition to delirium. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of prospective observational study. SETTING: Medical ICU over a 201-day period. PATIENTS: Two hundred twenty-three patients with greater than or equal to one night in the medical ICU in between two consecutive days of delirium assessment. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Daily perceived sleep quality ratings were measured using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Delirium was measured twice daily using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU. Other covariates evaluated included age, sex, race, ICU admission diagnosis, nighttime mechanical ventilation status, prior day's delirium status, and daily sedation using benzodiazepines and opioids, via both bolus and continuous infusion. Perceived sleep quality was similar in patients who were ever versus never delirious in the ICU (median [interquartile range] ratings, 58 [35-76] vs 57 [33-78], respectively; p = 0.71), and perceived sleep quality was unrelated to delirium transition (adjusted odds ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.00). In mechanically ventilated patients, receipt of a continuous benzodiazepine and/or opioid infusion was associated with delirium transition (adjusted odds ratio, 4.02; 95% CI, 2.19-7.38; p < 0.001), and patients reporting use of pharmacological sleep aids at home were less likely to transition to delirium (adjusted odds ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20-0.80; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no association between daily perceived sleep quality ratings and transition to delirium. Infusion of benzodiazepine and/or opioid medications was strongly associated with transition to delirium in the ICU in mechanically ventilated patients and is an important, modifiable risk factor for delirium in critically ill patients.

Developing, implementing, and evaluating a multifaceted quality improvement intervention to promote sleep in an ICU.

Critically ill patients commonly experience poor sleep quality in the intensive care unit (ICU) because of various modifiable factors. To address this issue, an ICU-wide, multifaceted quality improvement (QI) project was undertaken to promote sleep in the Johns Hopkins Hospital Medical ICU (MICU). To supplement previously published results of this QI intervention, the present article describes the specific QI framework used to develop and implement this intervention, which consists of 4 steps: (a) summarizing the evidence to create a list of sleep-promoting interventions, (b) identifying and addressing local barriers to implementation, (c) selecting performance measures to assess intervention adherence and patient outcomes, and (d) ensuring that all patients receive the interventions through staff engagement and education and regular project evaluation. Measures of performance included daily completion rates of daytime and nighttime sleep improvement checklists and completion rates of individual interventions. Although long-term adherence and sustainability pose ongoing challenges, this model provides a foundation for future ICU sleep promotion initiatives.

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The effect of a quality improvement intervention on perceived sleep quality and cognition in a medical ICU.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if a quality improvement intervention improves sleep and delirium/cognition. DESIGN: Observational, pre-post design. SETTING: A tertiary academic hospital in the United States. PATIENTS: 300 medical ICU patients. INTERVENTIONS: This medical ICU-wide project involved a "usual care" baseline stage, followed by a quality improvement stage incorporating multifaceted sleep-promoting interventions implemented with the aid of daily reminder checklists for ICU staff. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary ICU outcomes were perceived sleep quality and noise ratings (measured on a 0-100 scale using the valid and reliable Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire) and delirium/coma-free days. Secondary outcomes included ICU and hospital length of stay and mortality. Post-ICU measures of cognition and perceived sleep quality were evaluated in an ICU patient subset. During the baseline and sleep quality improvement stages, there were 122 and 178 patients, respectively, with more than one night in the ICU, accounting for 634 and 826 patient-days. Within the groups, 78 (63.9%) and 83 (46.6%) patients received mechanical ventilation. Over the 826 patient-day quality improvement period, checklist item completion rates ranged from 86% to 94%. In multivariable regression analysis of the quality improvement vs. baseline stages, improvements in overall Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire sleep quality ratings did not reach statistical significance, but there were significant improvements in daily noise ratings (mean ± SD: 65.9±26.6 vs. 60.5±26.3, p = 0.001), incidence of delirium/coma (odds ratio: 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.89; p = 0.02), and daily delirium/coma-free status (odds ratio: 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.58; p = 0.03). Improvements in secondary ICU outcomes and post-ICU outcomes did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: An ICU-wide quality improvement intervention to improve sleep and delirium is feasible and associated with significant improvements in perceived nighttime noise, incidence of delirium/coma, and daily delirium/coma-free status. Improvement in perceived sleep quality did not reach statistical significance.

Patient-nurse interrater reliability and agreement of the Richards-Campbell sleep questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) is a simple, validated survey instrument for measuring sleep quality in intensive care patients. Although both patients and nurses can complete the RCSQ, interrater reliability and agreement have not been fully evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate patient-nurse interrater reliability and agreement of the RCSQ in a medical intensive care unit. METHODS: The instrument included 5 RCSQ items plus a rating of nighttime noise, each scored by using a 100-mm visual analogue scale. The mean of the 5 RCSQ items comprised a total score. For 24 days, the night-shift nurses in the medical intensive care unit completed the RCSQ regarding their patients' overnight sleep quality. Upon awakening, all conscious, nondelirious patients completed the RCSQ. Neither nurses nor patients knew the others' ratings. Patient-nurse agreement was evaluated by using mean differences and Bland-Altman plots. Reliability was evaluated by using intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients had a total of 92 paired patient-nurse assessments. For all RCSQ items, nurses' scores were higher (indicating "better" sleep) than patients' scores, with significantly higher ratings for sleep depth (mean [SD], 67 [21] vs 48 [35], P = .001), awakenings (68 [21] vs 60 [33], P = .03), and total score (68 [19] vs 57 [28], P = .01). The Bland-Altman plots also showed that nurses' ratings were generally higher than patients' ratings. Intraclass correlation coefficients of patient-nurse pairs ranged from 0.13 to 0.49 across the survey questions. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-nurse interrater reliability on the RCSQ was "slight" to "moderate," with nurses tending to overestimate patients' perceived sleep quality.