Early impact of the 2011 ACGME duty hour regulations on surgical outcomes.

Scally CP, Ryan AM, Thumma JR, Gauger PG, Dimick JB. Surgery. 2015;158:1453-1461.

Duty hour reform was enacted to improve patient safety, but its effect remains unclear. This study found no difference in surgical complication rates before and after implementation of 2011 duty hour reforms, using nonteaching hospitals as a reference population. These results add to the literature suggesting that duty hours had no substantial impact on patient outcomes.