Noise levels in Greek hospitals.
High noise levels have been recognized as a serious problem in hospital environments during both night- and daytime, and have been associated with a negative impact on patients' health status. The aim of this study was to measure and detect differences in noise levels between an ICU and a pulmonary ward in two general hospitals in Greece.


METHODS
Noise measurements were recorded in one-hour intervals using the Cirrus CR: 245/R2 Environmental Noise Analyzer in a 30-bed pulmonary ward and in a 16-bed general ICU for seven consecutive days.


RESULTS
Noise levels detected in the ward were significantly lower than those detected in the ICU (52.6 +/- 8.2 dB vs 59 +/- 2.2 dB, P Conclusion: Noise levels measured in the ward and in the ICU were high, significantly exceeding the highest permitted values for hospitals. The latter was more obviously recorded in the ICU.
Tsara
Venetia
V
2nd Pulmonary Department, GH 'G. PAPANIKOLAOU', Thessaloniki, Greece. bpneumonologiki@yahoo.gr
Nena
Evangelia
E
Serasli
Evangelia
E
Vasileiadis
Vasilis
V
Matamis
Dimitris
D
Christaki
Pandora
P
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006115:Greece; D006272:Health Facility Environment; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009622:Noise; D012124:Respiratory Care Units; D013018:Sound Spectrography