Jesús Vera1,2, Carolina Diaz-Piedra3,4, Raimundo Jiménez1, Jose M Sanchez-Carrion5, Leandro L Di Stasi6,7,8. 1. Department of Optics, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. 2. Mixed University Sport and Health Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, Granada, Spain. 3. Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center - CIMCYC, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain. dipie@ugr.es. 4. College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA. dipie@ugr.es. 5. IAVANTE, Line of Activity of the Andalusian Public Foundation for Progress and Health, Ministry of Equality, Health and Social Policy of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Granada, Spain. 6. Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center - CIMCYC, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain. 7. College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA. 8. Joint Center University of Granada - Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command, Granada, Spain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Surgeons' overload is one of the main causes of medical errors that might compromise patient safety. Due to the drawbacks of current options to monitor surgeons' load, new, sensitive, and objective indices of task (over)load need to be considered and tested. In non-health-care scenarios, intraocular pressure (IOP) has been proved to be an unbiased physiological index, sensitive to task complexity (one of the main variables related to overload), and time on task. In the present study, we assessed the effects of demanding and complex simulated surgical procedures on surgical and medical residents' IOP. METHODS: Thirty-four surgical and medical residents and healthcare professionals took part in this study (the experimental group, N = 17, and the control group, N = 17, were matched for sex and age). The experimental group performed two simulated bronchoscopy procedures that differ in their levels of complexity. The control group mimicked the same hand-eye movements and posture of the experimental group to help control for the potential effects of time on task and re-measurement on IOP. We measured IOP before and after each procedure, surgical performance during procedures, and perceived task complexity. RESULTS: IOP increased as consequence of performing the most complex procedure only in the experimental group. Consistently, residents performed worse and reported higher perceived task complexity for the more complex procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show, for the first time, that IOP is sensitive to residents' task load, and it could be used as a new index to easily and rapidly assess task (over)load in healthcare scenarios. An arousal-based explanation is given to describe IOP variations due to task complexity.
BACKGROUND: Surgeons' overload is one of the main causes of medical errors that might compromise patient safety. Due to the drawbacks of current options to monitor surgeons' load, new, sensitive, and objective indices of task (over)load need to be considered and tested. In non-health-care scenarios, intraocular pressure (IOP) has been proved to be an unbiased physiological index, sensitive to task complexity (one of the main variables related to overload), and time on task. In the present study, we assessed the effects of demanding and complex simulated surgical procedures on surgical and medical residents' IOP. METHODS: Thirty-four surgical and medical residents and healthcare professionals took part in this study (the experimental group, N = 17, and the control group, N = 17, were matched for sex and age). The experimental group performed two simulated bronchoscopy procedures that differ in their levels of complexity. The control group mimicked the same hand-eye movements and posture of the experimental group to help control for the potential effects of time on task and re-measurement on IOP. We measured IOP before and after each procedure, surgical performance during procedures, and perceived task complexity. RESULTS: IOP increased as consequence of performing the most complex procedure only in the experimental group. Consistently, residents performed worse and reported higher perceived task complexity for the more complex procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show, for the first time, that IOP is sensitive to residents' task load, and it could be used as a new index to easily and rapidly assess task (over)load in healthcare scenarios. An arousal-based explanation is given to describe IOP variations due to task complexity.
Authors: Leandro L Di Stasi; Andrés Catena; José J Cañas; Stephen L Macknik; Susana Martinez-Conde Journal: Neurosci Biobehav Rev Date: 2013-03-26 Impact factor: 8.989
Authors: Dimitrios Stefanidis; James R Korndorffer; F William Black; J Bruce Dunne; Rafael Sierra; Cheri L Touchard; David A Rice; Ronald J Markert; Peter R Kastl; Daniel J Scott Journal: Surgery Date: 2006-08 Impact factor: 3.982
Authors: Laura K Barger; Najib T Ayas; Brian E Cade; John W Cronin; Bernard Rosner; Frank E Speizer; Charles A Czeisler Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2006-12 Impact factor: 11.069