Effect of fatigue on laparoscopic skills: a comparative historical cohort study

Fatigue has been shown to have a negative impact on surgical performance. However, there is a lack of research investigating its effect on laparoscopy, particularly in Australia. This study investigated whether fatigue associated with a surgeon's usual workday led to a measurable drop off in laparoscopic surgical skills as assessed on a laparoscopic simulator.

A comparative study involving two cohorts was undertaken: a study group whose data were collected prospectively was compared to a historical control group. Participants were required to reach a predetermined level of proficiency in each laparoscopic task on either a FLS or LapSim simulator. The participants in the study cohort were re-tested approximately 1 month after completing 10 h of work. The participants in the historical non-fatigued group were re-tested approximately 1 month after reaching proficiency. Comparisons between cohorts were made using a 'decrease in score per day elapsed' value to account for the natural attrition in skills over time and the variability in testing times within and between the two cohorts.

The decrease in overall score per day elapsed for fatigued participants was significantly greater than for historical non-fatigued participants, irrespective of the simulator type. Fatigue had a greater impact on certain laparoscopic skills, including peg transfer and knot tying. Participants who self-reported higher level of fatigue demonstrated significantly better skills than those who self-reported lower levels.

Overall laparoscopic skill proficiency was reduced in the fatigued participants compared to the historical non-fatigued participants, with certain laparoscopic skills more affected than others.