Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Exhaled Nitric Oxide Concentrations in Medical Residents Taking Night Call

Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Exhaled Nitric Oxide Concentrations in Medical Residents Taking Night Call

Background: Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) is considered a biomarker for airway inflammation, and has been studied most extensively in asthma. It has also been implicated as a biomarker in other forms of stress, including psychological, although results have been variable. Sleep deprivation in medical residents on duty can be stressful. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether sleep deprivation was linked to altered levels of eNO and, if so, whether eNO concentrations (FeNO) could be reliably used as a simple, non-invasive measure of inflammation in varying degrees of sleep deprivation. Our hypothesis was that FeNO levels are higher during sleep deprivation. Given that taking night call can be a stressful situation (leading to sleep disruption), we asked (1) what is the relationship between FeNO in physician trainees and sleep deprivation, and (2) can FeNO be viewed as a marker for inflammation in sleep deprivation during on-call duty?