The effect of sleep deprivation on fine motor coordination in obstetrics and gynecology residents

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute sleep deprivation on the fine motor coordination in obstetrics and gynecology residents. Study Design: Twenty-eight obstetrics and gynecology residents completed a series of tasks using the Purdue pegboard standardized protocol for testing fine motor coordination both before and after a 24-hour call. Results: Twenty-three participants were women and 5 were men. There was a learning curve demonstrated for performance of the tasks. There was a statistically significant decline in performance of residents after overnight call. When adjusting for the learning curve, effects of sleep deprivation were magnified for all tasks: right (dominant) hand (P = .0005), left hand (P = .0020), both hands (P < .0001), and assembly (P < .0001). There were significant differences in performance when segregated by year of training and sex; female residents appeared to tolerate better lack of sleep. Conclusion: Acute sleep deprivation has a deleterious effect on fine motor coordination in this group of obstetrics and gynecology residents.