Melatonin treatment of pediatric residents for adaptation to night shift work.
BACKGROUND
Night float rotations are used in residency training programs to reduce residents' sleep deprivation. Night shift work, however, is accompanied by deleterious effects on sleep, mood, and attention.


OBJECTIVE
To test whether melatonin reduces the deleterious effects of night shift work on sleep, mood, and attention in pediatric residents during night float rotation.


METHODS
Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover. Participants took melatonin (3 mg) or a placebo before bedtime in the morning after night shift; completed a sleep diary and an adverse-effects questionnaire daily; and completed the Profile of Mood States and the Conners Continuous Performance Test 3 times in each study week to test mood and attention, respectively.


METHODS
A university-affiliated, tertiary-care pediatric hospital.


METHODS
Healthy second-year pediatric residents working 2 night float rotations.


METHODS
Standardized measures of sleep, mood, and attention.


RESULTS
Twenty-eight residents completed both treatments; 17 completed 1 treatment (10 placebo, 7 melatonin). There was not a statistically significant difference in measures of sleep, mood, and 5 of 6 measures of attention during melatonin and placebo treatment. One measure of attention, the number of omission errors, was significantly lower on melatonin (3.0 +/- 9.6) than on placebo (4.5 +/- 17.5) (z = -2.12, P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
The isolated finding of improvement of 1 single measure of attention in a test situation during melatonin treatment was not sufficiently robust to demonstrate a beneficial effect of melatonin in the dose used. Other strategies need to be considered to help residents in adaptation to night shift work.
Cavallo
Anita
A
Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039, USA. anita.cavallo@cchmc.org
Ris
M Douglas
MD
Succop
Paul
P
Jaskiewicz
Julie
J
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009551:Night Care; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance
D008550:Melatonin