Sleep-deprived doctors make more mistakes

Two studies published in the Oct. 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine have found that interns working more than 80 hours a week committed serious medical errors 36% more often than interns who kept a less-arduous schedule.

When it came to diagnosing illness, the sleep-deprived interns made serious mistakes 5.6 times more often than their rested colleagues, the research showed.

Most of the intern errors were caught by nurses, pharmacists and senior members of the medical staff before permanent harm was done.

The researchers, led by Charles Czeisler at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, also hooked 20 interns to eye-movement monitors to look for signs of sleepiness.

During overnight shifts, interns on the longer schedule were twice as likely to nod off.

“Instead of being at the top of their game, they were just holding on by the fingernails to try to stay awake,” Czeisler said.