Trial reportIntensive care medicine2016
Night shift decreases cognitive performance of ICU physicians.
Trial report in Intensive care medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effects of work on cognitive functions: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Night Shift and Decreased Brain Activity of ICU Nurses: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Effects of circadian misalignment on cognition in chronic shift workers.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Temporal distribution of recorded intensive care unit deaths across the 24-hour cycle: a 15-year retrospective hospital-based study.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Observational
- Increased p-Tau181 Levels After Overnight Wakefulness Are Associated With Neuroticism in Young Women.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Article
- Circadian Rhythm Traits Matter More Than Shift Work Demands in the Sleep-Depression-Safety Behavior Pathway Among Shift-Working Nurses.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- Targeting the cognitive failures of fatigue: a randomized, double-blind, crossover pilot trial of a rapid countermeasure in night-shift emergency physicians.Internal and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- The relationship between shift work, circadian rhythms, and cognitive function in ICU nursing.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Formal guidelines from an expert panel: intensive care unit medical staffing, organisation and working hours to improve quality of life at work in France.Annals of intensive care · 2025Article
- Mechanism, contributing factors, and coping strategies of alarm fatigue in intensive care nursing: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive flexibility: a scoping review of outcomes and biological mechanisms.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Examining the impact of sleep deprivation on medical reasoning's performance among anaesthesiology residents and doctors: a prospective study.BMC anesthesiology · 2024Article
- Inadequate intensive care physician supply in France: a point-prevalence prospective study.Annals of intensive care · 2024Article
- Effect and sustainability of a stepwise implemented multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship programme in a university hospital emergency department.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Night Physician-Nurse Collaboration: Developing the Scale of Physicians' Difficulties and Exploring Related Factors in Acute Care Hospitals.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Article
- Activation of the Hippocampal DRD2 Alleviates Neuroinflammation, Synaptic Plasticity Damage and Cognitive Impairment After Sleep Deprivation.Molecular neurobiology · 2023Article
- Nighttime working as perceived by Italian anesthesiologists: a secondary analysis of an international survey.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2023Article
- Doctors' alertness, contentedness and calmness before and after night shifts: a latent profile analysis.Human resources for health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe relationship between tiredness and the risk of medical errors is now commonly accepted. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of an intensive care unit (ICU) night shift on the cognitive performance of a group of intensivists. The influence of professional experience and the amount of sleep on cognitive performance was also investigated.
methodsA total of 51 intensivists from three ICUs (24 seniors and 27 residents) were included. The study participants were evaluated after a night of rest and after a night shift according to a randomized order. Four cognitive skills were tested according to the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.
resultsAll cognitive abilities worsened after a night shift: working memory capacity (11.3 ± 0.3 vs. 9.4 ± 0.3; p < 0.001), speed of processing information (13.5 ± 0.4 vs. 10.9 ± 0.3; p < 0.001), perceptual reasoning (10.6 ± 0.3 vs. 9.3 ± 0.3; p < 0.002), and cognitive flexibility (41.2 ± 1.2 vs. 44.2 ± 1.3; p = 0.063). There was no significant difference in terms of level of cognitive impairment between the residents and ICU physicians. Only cognitive flexibility appeared to be restored after 2 h of sleep. The other three cognitive skills were altered, regardless of the amount of sleep during the night shift.
conclusionsThe cognitive abilities of intensivists were significantly altered following a night shift in the ICU, regardless of either the amount of professional experience or the duration of sleep during the shift. The consequences for patients' safety and physicians' health should be further evaluated.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.