Doctor hour limits give mixed results

STANFORD, Calif., July 12 (UPI) -- A study of U.S. restrictions limiting the hours worked by many physicians in training shows mixed results.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers found the limits produced somewhat lower death rates in high-risk medical patients in teaching hospitals but don't reflect improved outcomes for surgical patients.

"It's difficult to say, based on our findings, that the regulations are good for everyone," said the lead author of the study, Dr. Kanaka Shetty. "But they do appear to have a modest impact on some."

The study is said to be the largest analysis of the impact of work-hour regulations on medical residents in the United States. Such physician training has historically involved long work weeks -- sometimes more than 100 hours -- and numerous studies have found sleep deprivation among caretakers can cause clinical performance to suffer.

The new limits, enacted in 2003 by the U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, prohibit medical residents from working more than 80 hours a week or more than 30 consecutive hours.

The research, along with a similar Yale University study, will appear in the July 17 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.