Author(s)

Hiroaki Murata^1*, Yoko Yamaguchi²

¹School of Nursing at Narita, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan.
²Department of Intensive Care Unit, Jikei University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Aim: The purpose of this case study was to examine the sleep quality of patients receiving noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) or nasal high-flow oxygen therapy (NHF) in an intensive care unit and to investigate what types of nursing support are offered to such patients. Methods: We examined one patient each for NPPV and NHF. Polysomnography (PSG), review of the patient charts, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for analysis. Results: Patients treated with NPPV or NHF demonstrated a noticeable reduction in deep sleep, with most of their sleep being shallow. Their sleep patterns varied greatly from those of healthy individuals. These results suggest that, in addition to experiencing extremely fragmented sleep, sleep in these patients was more likely to be interrupted by nursing interventions, such as during auscultation of breath sounds. Furthermore, it was revealed that “anxiety or discomfort that accompanies the mask or air pressure” in patients treated with NPPV and “discomfort that accompanies the nasal cannula or NHF circuit” in patients treated with NHF may be primary causes of disrupted sleep. Our results suggest a need for nursing care aimed at improving sleep quality in patients treated with NPPV or NHF.

Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NPPV), Nasal High-Flow Oxygen Therapy (NHF), Sleep Deprivation, ICU, Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS)

Murata, H. and Yamaguchi, Y. (2018) Sleep Quality for Patients Receiving Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation and Nasal High-Flow Oxygen Therapy in an ICU: Two Case Studies. Open Journal of Nursing, 8, 605-615. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2018.89045.