FRECUENCIA DEL USO DE NEUROESTIMULANTES EN INTERNOS ROTATIVOS DE MEDICINA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA, COHORTE SEPTIEMBRE 2025- AGOSTO 2026

Abstract

Background: The use of neurostimulants in academic settings has increased as a strategy to sustain wakefulness and attention under high-demand conditions. During the rotating internship, clinical workload, prolonged shifts, and fatigue may promote the use of readily available substances (caffeine and energy drinks) and, to a lesser extent, controlled prescription medications. Objective: To determine the frequency of neurostimulant use among rotating medical interns from the University of Cuenca assigned to Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital (September 2025-August 2026 cohort), and to describe patterns of use by type, frequency, motivations, means of acquisition, risk awareness, and demographic variables. Methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. A census approach was used (n=60). Data were collected using a structured, self-administered, anonymous questionnaire. Analyses were performed in SPSS v28 using descriptive statistics and crosstabulations by sex, age, and marital status. Results: Most participants were women (63.3%) and single (66.7%); age was mainly concentrated between 23 and 26 years. Overall, 78.3% reported neurostimulant use. Coffee/caffeine was the most commonly used neurostimulant and showed greater continuity (daily/frequent use), whereas energy drinks displayed a more situational pattern (occasional/frequent use). The primary motivations were staying awake during on-call shifts and reducing fatigue. Acquisition was predominantly through purchase. Men showed higher overall use and a greater predominance of energy drinks, whereas coffee predominated among women. Conclusions: A high frequency of neurostimulant use was identified during the internship, mainly involving readily available substances. Compared with international studies, these findings are consistent with the predominance of caffeine and energy drinks as functional wakefulness strategies, whereas prescription stimulants remained less frequent.