Welch Allyn Acuity and Mobile Acuity LT Central Monitoring Systems - User Manual - Manual (Page 89)

Directions for use Chapter 5 Respond to alarms and alerts 85
Important considerations: suspending an audible alarm or alert tone
Related to indications
WARNING During an alarm or alert suspension period, be aware of new visual
alarm indications that might occur on the patient monitor or Virtual Monitor.
During a suspension period, these things occur at the Virtual Monitor and patient
monitor:
• Audible tones are suspended for 90 seconds unless RESUME is clicked at
the central station or the alarm tone is reset at the patient monitor.
• Alarms for lethal events—apnea, asystole, ventricular tachycardia, and
ventricular fibrillation—override the suspend state.
• All other new alarms for the same patient are indicated only visually, by
additional red numeric highlights and arrhythmia or ST status messages.
• New equipment alerts are indicated only after the first alarm and alert
conditions are corrected.
WARNING If an Acuity Central Station display is intentionally or inadvertently
muted, alarm and alert tones do not occur at the display. If your central station
display includes audible tones, remain aware of whether they are occurring. If
they appear to have stopped, ensure that tones are restored.
WARNING False alarms may occur in some situations. You must understand
and address the cause of the false alarms whenever possible to eliminate the
possibility of repeated false alarms and alarm fatigue, which might result in a
failure to respond to an actual alarm situation.
WARNING Central station alarms, alerts, and other events can go unnoticed if
clinical personnel are not present at the central station or if interruptions occur in
power or system operations.
WARNING The leading cause of patient death or serious injury reported with the
use of patient monitoring equipment is failure to respond to alarms notifying the
user of an adverse change in patient condition. If you are relying on visual alarm
notifications, maintain a clear line of sight and remain within 4 meters of the
central station. If you are relying on audio alarm notifications, make sure that you
can hear audio alarms from where you are. Set the volume as needed considering
the environment and ambient noise levels. Verify that the alarm is audible to a
clinician working at the maximum distance from the central station.