Increased rate of complications on a neurological surgery service after implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hour restriction

Object The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education instituted mandatory 80-hour work-week limitations in July 2003. The work-hour restriction was met with skepticism among the academic neurosurgery community and is thought to represent a barrier to teaching, ultimately compromising patient care. The authors hypothesize that the introduction of the mandatory resident work-hour restriction corresponds with an overall increase in morbidity rate. Methods This study compares the morbidity and mortality rates on an academic neurological surgery service before and after institution of the work-hour restriction. Complications are individually assessed at a monthly divisional conference by neurosurgical faculty and residents. A prospective database was commenced in July 2000 recording all complications, complications that were deemed to be potentially avoidable (“possibly preventable”), and complications that were deemed unavoidable. The incidence of morbidity and mortality from July 2000 to June 2003...