Study of functional fatigue in surgeons and nurses of children's medical organizations

Abstract

Introduction. The impact of high work stress loads on medical workers of children's medical organizations contributes to the formation of fatigue and overwork, especially in modern working conditions, which determines the relevance of these studies.
 The study aims to develop methodological approaches to the quantitative assessment of functional fatigue under the influence of neuropsychiatric and visually stressful loads in medical workers for the differentiated justification of preventive 
 measures.
 Materials and methods. The researchers conducted comprehensive physiological and hygienic studies of medical workers in various work activities (in pediatric intensive care, surgery), aimed at hygienic assessment of the intensity of the labor process, physiological study of the state of the cardiovascular system with the study of the characteristics of the response to functional load (ECG registration on a 12-channel electrocardiograph and continuously using Holter monitoring). The authors have studied the physiological state of the central nervous system and the visual analyzer according to generally accepted methods. We have carried out a total of 2,700 measurements of psychophysiological indicators. Static processing of the received data was carried out using statistical programs STATISTICA 10, Microsoft Excel 2010.
 Results. Medical workers have high nervous-emotional and visual loads when watching video terminal screens. This leads to negative dynamics of the time of perception of sequential contrast (TPSC), a decrease in visual function. The time of onset and the depth of adverse changes depend on the degree of intensity of visual labor.
 We have established the same level of effectiveness of the functions of concentration of attention, short-term memory, perception of simple and complex visual signals in the daytime and at night. The daily curve of indicators does not correspond to the natural curve of the daily rhythm.
 Surgeons and nurses had a strain on the regulatory mechanisms of the circulatory system, a slowdown in the recovery period of all indicators after functional load in the night shift compared with daytime hours of work.
 Conclusion. Pronounced loads on the visual analyzer when watching video terminal screens against the background of nervous and emotional labor stress are the leading professional factors and determine the formation of the functional state of overwork of the first degree in nurses and the second degree in surgeons.
 Limitations. There are quantitative restrictions due to the number of medical personnel in the intensive care unit.
 Ethics. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health (Protocol No. 4 of 04/14/2021).