Sleep Deprivation and Performance of Residents

To the Editor. —  The article on the relationship between sleep deprivation and performance in residents by Deaconson and coworkers¹ is a valuable contribution to the literature on this subject. The authors are correct in their statement that even studies that have a research design (in contrast to a much larger number that are anecdotal and subjective) rely on two-point observations and are too simple in concept.Nevertheless, serious studies of this phenomenon are so scarce that it is important to call readers' attention to two not referenced in this article. Engel et al² have reported an interesting project in which carefully trained patient-actors were employed to evaluate clinical performance in a group of medical interns when they were rested and when they were sleep deprived. No significant differences were found.Christensen et al³ could identify no significant difference in performance between two groups of radiology residents