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.