Emotional exhaustion

Emotional exhaustion is a state of feeling depleted, drained, and overwhelmed by one's emotional demands or responsibilities, often leading to a reduced ability to cope with stressors and perform daily tasks. It is a common symptom of burnout, and may be caused by prolonged or intense periods of stress, job dissatisfaction, or personal problems. Some common signs of emotional exhaustion include feeling tired or lethargic, irritable, emotionally numb or detached, and experiencing a loss of motivation or interest in activities that were previously enjoyed.

Burnout (BS) is composed of 3 different subdimensions, namely emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and reduced personal accomplishment (PA). In the last years, interest in BS in the neurosurgical community has increased.

A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed following PRISMA guidelines. A search of bibliographic databases was conducted, from inception to February 2020. A total of 16377 studies were found. In the final analysis, 6 papers were included. Their references were checked for additional studies, but none were found.

Results: From the initial 16377, only 6 met the inclusion criteria, for a total of 3310 physicians. The general prevalence of 48%. When considered alone, neurosurgeons showed a prevalence of 51.1%, which was higher than the prevalence showed by residents in neurosurgery (45.4%). Regarding sub-dimensions, personal accomplishment seemed to be the most influential factor for burnout development among neurosurgeons (42.57%) and residents (51.56%).

Neurosurgery is a rewarding career choice, but some (togliere) many challenges and stressors can lead to lower levels of satisfaction and dangerously increased levels of burnout. We hope these results will generate discussion, raise awareness, stimulate further studies, and lead to programs designed to mitigate excessive stress and burnout within neurosurgery ¹⁾.