Assessment of Psychometric Vigilance on Neonatal Transport: A Western Australian Experience

Abstract

Objectives To assess whether undertaking retrieval was associated with fatigue independent of sleep and circadian disruption. Background Fatigue is associated impaired clinician performance and safety. The association between shift work, sleep deprivation and circadian disruption is well established. No studies have specifi-cally assessed the independent effect of the retrieval environment on fatigue. Method Medical and nursing staff of the neonatal retrieval team were prospectively recruited over a 12-month period. Simple reaction times (RT) were recorded at the start and end of a day shift using a validated 3-min Psychometric Vigilance Test (PVT). Results End of shift RT increased by 6.38ms (95% CI: -2.17 to 14.92ms, p = 0.149) when retrieval was undertaken. A 1ms increase in RT increased the odds of being in a subjective sleepy cate-gory by 0.57% (log odds: 0.0057, 95% CI: 0.0036 to 0.0078). Consuming caffeine during the shift increased mean RT by 16.26 ms (95% CI: 4.43 to 28.1 ms, p <0.01). Conclusion The 3-min PVT was found to be an easy method of objectively assessing fatigue in the re-trieval setting. The effects of caffeine consumption on RT warrants further investigation.