Trial reportCanadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie2014
Decreased heart rate variability in surgeons during night shifts.
Trial report in Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01623674 (Laparoscopic Skills and Cognitive Function Are Not Affected by Night Shifts in Surgeons), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Laparoscopic Skills and Cognitive Function Are Not Affected by Night Shifts in Surgeons
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Continuous heart rate variability monitoring, stress and recovery in doctors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Heart rate variability as a measure of mental stress in surgery: a systematic review.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2020Pooled it
- Surgeons' physiological parameters and surgical performance: a systematic scoping review.Patient safety in surgery · 2025Review
- Heart rate and heart rate variability during diagnostic and interventional neuroendovascular procedures.Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences · 2025Article
- Influence of night shift work on circadian heart-rate rhythm in nurses: using a Holter electrocardiogram that can be continuously measured for two weeks.Industrial health · 2024Article
- Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2024Article
- Guideline for the application of heart rate and heart rate variability in occupational medicine and occupational health science.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2024Review
- Update: factors influencing heart rate variability-a narrative review.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Review
- The physiology of intraoperative error: using electrokardiograms to understand operator performance during robot-assisted surgery simulations.Surgical endoscopy · 2023Article
- A systematic review of biological changes in surgeons' acute stress levels during surgery.Surgery in practice and science · 2023Review
- Article
- Learning Curve of Robotic Lobectomy for the Treatment of Lung Cancer: How Does It Impact on the Autonomic Nervous System of the Surgeon?Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- Determination of Waste Management Workers' Physical and Psychological Load: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Biometric Data.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effects of prolonged working hours on heart rate variability in internal medicine physicians.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Psychological Effects of Heart Rate and Physical Vibration on the Operation of Construction Machines: Experimental Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Article
- Article
- The Effect of Massage on the Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System and Markers of Inflammation in Night Shift Workers: a Pilot Randomized Crossover Trial.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2020Article
- Consumer-grade biosensor validation for examining stress in healthcare professionals.Physiological reports · 2020Article
- Pulse Rate Variability in Emergency Physicians During Shifts: Pilot Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Article
- Shift Work and Heart Rate Variability Coherence: Pilot Study Among Nurses.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHeart rate variability (HRV) has been used as a measure of stress and mental strain in surgeons. Low HRV has been associated with death and increased risk of cardiac events in the general population. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of a 17-hour night shift on surgeons' HRV.
methodsSurgeons were monitored prospectively with an ambulatory electrocardiography device for 48 consecutive hours, beginning on a precall day and continuing through an on-call (17-h shift) day. We measured HRV by frequency domain parameters.
resultsWe included 29 surgeons in our analysis. The median pulse rate was decreased precall (median 64, interquartile range [IQR] 56-70 beats per minute [bpm]) compared with on call (median 81, IQR 70-91 bpm, p < 0.001). Increased high-frequency (HF) activity was found precall (median 199, IQR 75-365 ms2) compared with on call (median 99, IQR 48-177 ms2, p < 0.001). The low-frequency:high-frequency (LF:HF) ratio was lower precall (median 2.7, IQR 1.9-3.9) than on call (median 4.9, IQR 3.7-6.5, p < 0.001). We found no correlation between the LF:HF ratio and performance in laparoscopic simulation.
conclusionSurgeons working night shifts had a significant decrease in HRV and a significant increase in pulse rate, representing sympathetic dominance in the autonomic nervous system.
trial registrationNCT01623674 (www.clinicaltrials.gov).
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