Alcohol misuse among medical professionals poses a significant concern, and there is a lack of clarity in (inter)national guidelines regarding alcohol use during work. Moreover, there exists an insufficient body of research on the specific impact of alcohol on fine motor skills within the medical sector, specifically surgery. This study aims to investigate the impact of alcohol on fine motor skills in a minimally invasive surgical setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Lowland Science on August 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2022, during the Lowlands music festival in Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands. Participants were divided into five groups based on measured alcohol consumption. Exclusion criteria included drug use, prior surgical experience, being underage, and previous participation. The main outcomes were the number of correctly transferred rings during the PEG transfer task and the number of errors. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured using a breathalyser. A total of 1056 participants were included in the study. The results indicated an inverse relationship between BAC levels and surgical performance, with higher alcohol levels associated with a decrease in performance (p = 0.023). However, there was no significant difference in the number of errors among the five groups (p = 0.597). The group with the highest alcohol consumption (BAC >0.08 %) exhibited significantly worse performance compared to the group with a BAC of 0.0 % (p = 0.002). This study uncovers a negative impact of increased alcohol intake on fine motor skills in a minimally invasive surgery simulation exercise. While there was no effect on the occurrence of errors. Professional medical organizations should reconsider and explicate their position on alcohol use in (surgical) healthcare.

中文翻译：

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酒精对精细运动技能的影响：微创手术模拟的见解

医疗专业人员中的酒精滥用引起了重大关注，并且有关工作期间饮酒的（国际）国家指南缺乏明确性。此外，关于酒精对医疗领域（特别是外科手术）精细运动技能的具体影响的研究还不够。本研究旨在调查酒精对微创手术环境中精细运动技能的影响。 Lowland Science 于 2022 年 8 月 19 日、20 日和 21 日在荷兰 Biddinghuizen 举办的 Lowlands 音乐节期间进行了一项横断面研究。根据测量的饮酒量，参与者被分为五组。排除标准包括吸毒、既往手术经验、未成年和以前参与。主要结果是 PEG 转移任务期间正确转移环的数量和错误数量。使用呼气分析仪测量血液酒精浓度（BAC）。该研究共有 1056 名参与者。结果表明，BAC 水平与手术表现之间存在反比关系，酒精浓度越高，手术表现就会下降（p = 0.023）。然而，五组之间的错误数量没有显着差异（p = 0.597）。与 BAC 为 0.0% 的组相比，酒精消耗量最高的组 (BAC >0.08%) 的表现明显较差 (p = 0.002)。这项研究揭示了微创手术模拟练习中增加酒精摄入量对精细运动技能的负面影响。虽然对错误的发生没有影响。专业医疗组织应重新考虑并阐明其在（外科）医疗保健中饮酒的立场。