Effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on simulated laparoscopic surgical performance

Abstract

Simulated surgical performance is impaired severely when estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is just above the UK legal limit for driving. These results contribute new, objective and quantitative evidence to the current debate about the use and misuse of alcohol within the medical profession.

The Alcohol Hangover And Its Potential Impact On The UK Armed Forces: A review Of The Literature On Post-alcohol Impairment

“…Three further studies using lower doses of alcohol found no effect on surgical skills, managerial tasks or repeated tasks (boredom possibly having a detrimental effect on performance) (31,32,33).…”

Simulation in Orthopaedic Education

“…Of the twentytwo studies that involved laparoscopic simulators and tested for construct validity, fifteen found the appropriate performance differences (e.g., attendings do better than residents and medical students) 9,10,15,17,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] . Several studies examining the validity of the simulation experiences have been conducted, primarily with use of the guidelines outlined earlier.…”

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation, Caffeine, and Alcohol on Simulated Neurosurgical Performance

“…There also have been studies showing there is no effect. Dorafshar et al [21] reported that surgical performance was impaired immediately after moderate alcohol consumption but this impairment was not observed the morning after.…”