BMJ  2004;328:963 (17 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7445.963-a

reviews

SOUNDINGS

On covering one's mouth (when yawning)

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A simple observational study recently found that 67.5% of medical students attending morning conference did not cover their mouth while yawning.

The data are still with the statisticians, who raised several problems. Could the extreme boredom of attending these conferences have induced excessive yawning and biased the results? Were genders and races adequately represented in the study? Can the results be extrapolated to livelier conferences? Was there a distinction drawn between the students on call the night before and those partying only until 2 am? And was the study adequately powered to yield a meaningful result?

There were legal issues. Was the study conducted under a valid approved protocol? There was indeed an old one, but it had expired two weeks earlier. The older study had been approved only for 50 subjects, and now 55 had been studied, a misdemeanour that may have to be reported to the federal watchdogs. . . . [Full text of this article]

Cook County Hospital, Chicago, USA

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Maio, H. A (2004). Evidence base: rock of certainty or shifting sands?: Where is the evidence for "evidence based"?. BMJ 328: 1203-1203 [Full text]  
• Turner, T. J (2004). Evidence base: rock of certainty or shifting sands?: Not a rock of certainty--but stepping stones?. BMJ 328: 1203-1203 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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Yawning : comparative study of knowledge and beliefs,

olivier walusinski
bmj.com, 3 Feb 2008 [Full text]