Enhancing Postanesthesia Care Unit Management Based on Noise Reduction Strategies Grounded in Comfort Theory

Purpose

To explore the management improvement measures and application effects of reducing noise in postanesthesia care unit (PACU) based on Comfort Theory.

Design

Randomized controlled clinical trial.

Methods

A total of 1,300 patients who underwent general anesthesia or combined nerve block anesthesia and were transferred to the PACU in May and August 2021 were divided into a control group (630 cases) and a study group (670 cases) based on time. The control group received routine PACU management, and management based on Comfort Theory to reduce the noise in the PACU was implemented with the study group, including physiological comfort, psychological and spiritual comfort, social and cultural comfort, and environmental comfort. The overall noise level in PACU, retention time in PACU, incidence of nursing adverse events, and patient satisfaction were compared before and after implementation.

Findings

In the observation group, the noise values of the four time periods in the PACU were significantly decreased, the retention time was (59.92 ± 22.0) minutes, the incidence of nursing adverse events and vomiting was 0.1%, and the patient satisfaction was 99.8%, which were significantly better than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < .05).

Conclusions

The management of noise reduction in PACU based on Comfort Theory can significantly reduce the noise level in PACU, effectively shorten the PACU retention time, reduce the incidence of nursing adverse events, and improve the nursing satisfaction of patients.