Sleep and circadian characteristics related to incidents reported by medical residents

MUL FEDELE, MALENA LIS; LÓPEZ GABEIRAS, MARÍA DEL PILAR; SEOANE, HERNAN A.; BELLONE, GIANNINA; SIMONELLI, GUIDO; DIEZ, JOAQUÍN; CAGLIANI, JOAQUÍN; LARRATEGUY, LUIS; EIGUCHI, KUMIKO; GOLOMBEK, DIEGO; CARDINALI, DANIEL P.; PÉREZ CHADA, DANIEL; VIGO, DANIEL E.

Conferencia; Society for Research on Biological Rhythms Biennial Conference; 2022

Nowadays, many operations and services require continuous activity. One ofthem are medical residents, whose work schedules often include extended shiftsand nocturnal work. These schedules can lead to a reduction in resident’s mentaland physical performance capability which can affect their safety and well-being,and have potentially adverse implications on patient care (Basner M 2017).Several studies reported an increase in medical resident’s errors working after anextended shift compared to after a night of sleep (Leroyer E 2014).The aim of the present study was to explore the presence of sleep and circadianalterations in Argentinian medical residents and its relationship with incidents thathappened to the professional at the hospital. We analysed these variablessubjectively in a group of 661 medical residents, and we carried on an objectivestudy in a group of 37 of them. The group that informed incidents, reportedsleeping less per working day and we found that sleep debt was about 30 minutesgreater than the ones who reported not having incidents. This group also reportedhigher scores of anxiety, depression and burn out. Regarding the objectivemeasures, we found that residents that reported incidents worked more hours ofextended shift during the studied week and that both groups slept the same totalweekly hours. However, the ones who reported incidents slept more hours duringthe day and less hours during the night than those who didn’t. Finally, we alsorecorded for 7 days the temperature rhythm and found that those participantswho reported incidents had a lower amplitude and percentage of rhythmicity ofthe temperature rhythm than those who didn’t, suggesting circadianmisalignment. These results suggest the development of new methods to monitorcircadian misalignment due to extended shifts and sleep disorders in residents,to prevent future incidents and accidents in health care facilities.