Sleep deprivation in acute care surgeons

Editor's Note

Acute and chronic sleep deprivation patterns are common in acute care surgeons and worsen on post-call day 2, finds this study.

In this analysis of 1,421 nights for 17 acute care surgeons, the average amount of sleep was 6.54 hours, with 64.8% of sleep patterns categorized as acute or chronic sleep deprivation.

The average amount of sleep was significantly higher on post-call day 1 (6.06 hours) but decreased significantly on post-call day 2 (6.33 hours).

Acute and chronic sleep deprivation patterns peaked on post-call day 2, and returned to baseline on post-call day 3.

More studies are needed to identify factors that affect physiologic recovery after call and to further clarify the relationship between sleep deprivation and burnout, the researchers note.