Objective: To examine the stress experienced by surgeons in response to surgery and night duty.
Design: Analyses were done by subjective questionnaires and an objective urine analysis.
Setting: One university hospital and 15 community/public hospitals in Kitakyushu City, Japan.
Participants: Sixty-six Japanese surgeons.
Main outcome measures: Scores on the NASA Task Load Index and Stress Arousal Checklist and urine biopyrin levels.
Results: The Task Load Index score significantly increased in association with the duration of surgery and the amount of surgical blood loss. Urine biopyrin levels significantly increased with the duration of surgery. Night duty significantly decreased sleep time and significantly increased urine biopyrin levels. Stress Arousal Checklist Arousal Scale scores significantly decreased the morning after night duty and the evening after the end of the following day shift.
Conclusion: Surgery was associated with stress on surgeons and night duty influenced the arousal of the surgeons during the day shift following night duty.