Study: Rested residents good for patients

Published: Sept. 21, 2008 at 12:21 AM

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A new study finds that efforts to make sure medical residents in the United States and Canada get more rest are getting results.

Researchers tracked patients who underwent gallbladder removals at a California hospital, The Toronto Globe and Mail reported. They found fewer complications in patients after 2003, when residents were limited to an 80-hour work week.

Before 2003, about 1 percent of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedures suffered from bile duct injuries and 5 percent from other complications, the study published in the Archives of Surgery said. After 2003, .4 percent had bile duct problems and 2 percent other complications.

Before limits were set on residents hours, some were on call as much as 120 hours a week.

"Up until our study, there have been no studies showing that patient outcomes have improved with the new duty-hour restrictions," Christian de Virgilio, a professor of surgery at the University of California Los Angeles medical school told the newspaper.

Critics even argued that residents were being shortchanged by the time limits.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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