Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Sleep is one of the basic human needs and sleep deprivation causes nu-merous adverse effects on the human body and mind. Due to reduced sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome, this study was carried out to determine the effect of eye mask on sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: In this two-group controlled clinical trial, sixty patients with acute coronary syndrome in the coronary care units of Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran in 2010 were selected by purposeful sampling method and randomly allocated to two groups of case and control. In the case group, in the second night stay, the intervention of eye mask was done per night and by using the Petersburg's sleep quality index; sleep quality was evaluated during and at the end of hospitalization. Then data were analyzed by paired t-test, independent t-test, Spearman and Pearson's correlation coefficient and SPSS software version 19. RESULTS: Total sleep quality score of the case group was significantly decreased after intervention (4.86 +/- 1.88) from before intervention (10.46 +/- 4.09) (p < 0.000). In addi-tion, total score of sleep quality after intervention in the case group (4.86 +/- 1.88) was significant different from the control group (8.43 +/- 1.97) (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Using eye mask, as an economical and uncomplicated method, can improve sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome in the coronary care units and can be used as an alternative method of treatment instead of drug therapy.