Does caffeine consumption affect laparoscopic skills in a motion tracking analysis? A prospective, randomized,...

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Human Performance
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Caffeine is known to enhance vigilance and performance, particularly during sleep deprivation.
• Potential concerns exist regarding caffeine's impact on fine motor skills and the central nervous system in surgical contexts.
• The influence of caffeine on laparoscopic skills remains an area requiring empirical investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of caffeine consumption on the laparoscopic performance of surgical novices.
• To assess whether caffeine enhances or impairs critical surgical skills in a controlled setting.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, randomized, blinded crossover trial involving 50 laparoscopic novices.
• Participants underwent standardized laparoscopic skills training until proficiency was achieved.
• Performance was evaluated after consuming either a 200 mg caffeinated beverage or a placebo, using task completion time, error rates, OSATS scores, and instrument motion analysis (IMA).

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in task completion times or overall instrument motion analysis (IMA) parameters between caffeine and placebo groups.
• Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scores remained comparable across both conditions.
• A statistically significant increase in major errors was noted during the circle cutting task in the caffeine group compared to the placebo group (34% vs. 16%).

Conclusions:

• Caffeine consumption does not appear to enhance or impair overall laparoscopic performance in surgical novices based on objective measures.
• The observed increase in major errors during a specific task suggests a potential nuanced negative impact of caffeine on certain aspects of surgical performance.
• Further research is needed to clarify the conclusive effects of caffeine on error occurrence in laparoscopic surgery.