Short-term sleep deficits do not adversely affect acquisition of laparoscopic skills in a laboratory setting

Abstract

Background: Residents often are sleep deprived after being on call. This study evaluated the effects of these sleep deficits on the acquisition of laparoscopic skills in the laboratory setting.

Methods: The amount of sleep on the preceding night was recorded for 40 residents undergoing surgical skills training. The residents underwent a pretest, training, practice, and a posttest using basic (pegboard, cup drop, rope pass) and task-specific (pattern cutting, clip application, loop application) drills. Time to completion, penalty score, and total score were assessed.

Results: Significant improvements were seen in the time and total score for all six drills, with a significant decrease in penalty scores noted for the pegboard and rope pass drills. No significant differences in skill acquisition were attributable to amount of sleep.

Conclusion: Training in the laboratory results in significant improvement of basic laparoscopic skills. Because short-term sleep deficits do not appear to hinder the acquisition of these skills, this model can be effectively applied, even after residents correct have been on call.