TY - JOUR AU - Darbyshire, Julie L. AU - Young, J. Duncan PY - 2013 DA - 2013/09/03 TI - An investigation of sound levels on intensive care units with reference to the WHO guidelines JO - Critical Care SP - R187 VL - 17 IS - 5 AB - Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) suffer from sleep deprivation arising from nursing interventions and ambient noise. This may exacerbate confusion and ICU-related delirium. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that average hospital sound levels should not exceed 35 dB with a maximum of 40 dB overnight. We monitored five ICUs to check compliance with these guidelines. SN - 1364-8535 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/cc12870 DO - 10.1186/cc12870 ID - Darbyshire2013 ER -