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Sleep-deprived surgeons may be putting
their patients at risk for life-threatening complications
that could be avoided with
a good night's sleep.
Their study found that 14 surgeons in
training who got less than 3 hours of sleep after working
a 17-hour shift made significantly
more errors when performing laparoscopic surgery,
a minimally invasive procedure, due in part to lack of concentration
and coordination. The surgeons were not operating on real
patients, but were using a "virtual reality" surgery
system.
The surgeons also took longer to perform
certain tasks associated with the surgery.
A potential risk for compromising patient
safety exists with the current system where doctors may need
to perform surgery after a sleepless night. Hospitals should
ensure that a sufficient
number of doctors are available to share workloads
and stop the common practice of allowing physicians to work
after a night during which they are "on call," or
available for emergencies.
British Medical
Journal November 24, 2001;323:1222-1223
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