An application of the learning curve–cumulative summation test to evaluate training for endotracheal intubation in emergency medicine

Optimizing clinical care and training in the neonatal intensive care unit: the relationship between front line providers and physician trainees

Changes in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) coverage models, restrictions in trainee work hours, and alterations to the training requirements of pediatric house staff have led to a rapid increase in utilization of front-line providers (FLPs) in the NICU. FLP describes a provider who cares for neonates and infants in the delivery room, nursery, and NICU, and includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and/or hospitalists. The increasing presence and responsibility of FLPs in the NICU have fundamentally changed the way patient care is provided as well as the learning environment for trainees. With these changes has come confusion over role clarity with resulting periodic conflict. While staffing changes have addressed a critical clinical gap, they have also highlighted areas for improvement amongst the teams of NICU providers. This paper describes the current landscape and summarizes improvement opportunities with a dynamic neonatal interprofessional provider team.

Quantifying Intubation Forces on Incisors and Tongue Base Across Exposure Difficulty and Experience in a Simulator

OBJECTIVE

Laryngoscopy simulators quantifying forces on critical structures in progressively challenging airways and operator expertise are lacking. We aimed to quantify laryngoscopy forces across expertise and exposure difficulty.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective observational study Setting: Tertiary care medical center Methods: Force gauges were affixed to a difficult airway mannequin to quantify teeth and tongue forces across increasingly challenging airway exposure. Medical students (n=10), residents (n=11), and otolaryngology staff (n=10) performed direct laryngoscopy using a Miller size 3 laryngoscope with 1) normal neck/jaw mobility, 2) restricted neck extension, 3) restricted jaw opening, and 4) restricted neck/jaw mobility. Incisor and tongue pounds of force (lbf) were continuously measured.

RESULTS

As the difficulty setting increased, forces exerted by the students, residents, and staff on the incisors and tongue base increased (p=0.01). Between normal and maximally restricted settings, force delivered to the incisors increased by 6.95 lbf (standard error (SE) 1.29), 5.93 lbf (SE 0.98), and 5.94 lbf (SE 0.70) for the students, residents, and staff, respectively. At the tongue base, force increased by 0.37 lbf (SE 0.18), 0.46 lbf (SE 0.14), and 0.73 lbf (SE 0.15) for the students, residents, and staff, respectively. Esophageal intubations occurred in 50% of the students, 23% of the residents, and 45% of the otolaryngology staff at maximal difficulty, with none at the easiest setting (p=0.33). Compared to the residents, the staff applied significantly increased pressure on the tongue base during laryngoscopy (p=0.02).

CONCLUSION

Forces exerted on the incisors and tongue base varied across exposure difficulty and expertise levels, suggesting that they may be useful markers for training and competence assessment.

To Tube or Not to Tube ... That Continues to Be the Question

In the prehospital setting, "to tube, or not to tube" will persist as a probing question - long after this article is published. It is the hope of the authors simply to position a compilation of thoughts to consider in regards to alternate airways vs. endotracheal intubation. Ultimately, it's all about the right care, for the right patient, at the right time!

Emergeny Medicine Resident Trauma Intubation Success and Prior Intubation Experience

BACKGROUND

Emergency medicine residents are often involved in the management of trauma airways. There are few data on the correlation between prior intubation experience and first-pass trauma intubation success for emergency medicine residents.

OBJECTIVES

We attempted to elucidate a relationship between prior resident intubation experience and first-pass success for trauma patient intubation.

METHODS

We combined two data sets to assess for correlation between prior intubation experience for postgraduate year 2 and 3 residents and first-pass success for trauma patient intubation. Prior intubation experience was gathered from resident procedure logs and trauma intubation data were collected as part of a quality-monitoring program. A univariable logistic regression analysis for all available variables was performed, with first-pass intubation success as the outcome of interest.

RESULTS

We included 295 consecutive trauma patients intubated at a Level I trauma center where we could link the resident prior intubation experience (total intubations) with intubation attempt quality data. First-pass success for all emergency medicine residents was 82.3% (233/283). Overall successful intubation rate for emergency medicine residents was 90.4% (256/283). The combination of airway management by both the resident and emergency medicine attending provided an overall success rate of 97.3% (287/295). There was no statistically significant association between first-pass success and prior resident intubation experience or any of the other measured variables.

CONCLUSION

We did not demonstrate any significant correlation between first-pass intubation success and number of prior intubations performed by the emergency medicine resident.

An implementation of the learning curve cumulative summation test to evaluate a practicum for endometrial cancer ultrasound staging

PURPOSE

The learning curve cumulative summation (LC-CUSUM) test is commonly used as a quantitative assessment of the individual learning process. This study aimed to evaluate the skill acquisition process for performing ultrasound staging of endometrial cancer using the LC-CUSUM test.

METHODS

Sixty-seven ultrasound examinations performed by two operators were evaluated using the LC-CUSUM test according to their rate of success or failure to correctly stage myometrial invasion, serosa involvement, and pelvic and para-aortic lymph node involvement. The reference standard was the pathologic result. After the learning phase, the cumulative summation (CUSUM) test was applied to assess performance maintenance.

RESULTS

The processes achieved satisfactory performance in the majority of the cases according to the established definitions. Operator 1 reached adequate performance within the 30th procedure for all the locations considered, while operator 2 performed fewer than 30 ultrasound examinations by the audit time. The CUSUM test confirmed that the target quality was preserved after the learning phase. Moreover, the ultrasound staging for endometrial cancer was highly accurate.

CONCLUSION

Using the LC-CUSUM test made it possible to monitor the achievement and maintenance of a satisfactory performance quantitatively. The LC-CUSUM test could be a valuable instrument to survey diagnostic pathways in gynecological ultrasonography quantitatively.

Defining the learning curve for endotracheal intubation in the emergency department

To determine the minimum number of endotracheal intubation (ETI) attempts necessary for a novice emergency medicine (EM) trainee to become proficient with this procedure. This single-center study retrospectively analyzed data obtained from the institutional airway registry during the period from April 2014 to March 2021. All ETI attempts made by EM trainees starting their residency programs between 2014 and 2018 were evaluated. We used a first attempt success (FAS) rate of 85% as a proxy for ETI proficiency. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the association between FAS and cumulative ETI experience. The number of ETI attempts required to achieve an FAS rate of ≥ 85% was estimated using the regression coefficients obtained from the model. The study period yielded 2077 ETI cases from a total of 1979 patients. The FAS rate was 78.6% (n = 1632/2077). After adjusting for confounding factors, the cumulative number of ETI cases was associated with increased FAS (adjusted odds ratio, 1.010 per additional ETI case; 95% confidence interval 1.006-1.013; p < 0.001). A minimum of 119 ETI cases were required to establish a ≥ 85% likelihood of FAS. At least 119 ETI cases were required for EM trainees to achieve an FAS rate of ≥ 85% in the emergency department.

Educational suitability of new channel-type video-laryngoscope with AI-based glottis guidance system for novices wearing personal-protective-equipment

The aim of this study was to determine which of 4 laryngoscopes, including A-LRYNGO, a newly developed channel-type video-laryngoscope with an embedded artificial intelligence-based glottis guidance system, is appropriate for tracheal intubation training in novice medical students wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).Thirty healthy senior medical school student volunteers were recruited. The participants underwent 2 tests with 4 laryngoscopes: Macintosh, McGrath, Pentax Airway-Scope and A-LRYNGO. The first test was conducted just after a lecture without any hands-on workshop. The second test was conducted after a one-on-one hands-on workshop. In each test, we measured the time required for tracheal intubation, intubation success rate, etc, and asked all participants to complete a short questionnaire.The time to completely insert the endotracheal tube with the Macintosh laryngoscope did not change significantly (P = .177), but the remaining outcomes significantly improved after the hands-on workshop (all P < .05). Despite being novice practitioners with no intubation experience and wearing PPE, the, 2 channel-type video-laryngoscopes were associated with good intubation-related performance before the hands-on workshop (all P < .001). A-LRYNGO's artificial intelligence-based glottis guidance system showed 93.1% accuracy, but 20.7% of trials were guided by the vocal folds.To prepare to manage the airway of critically ill patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a channel-type video-laryngoscope is appropriate for tracheal intubation training for novice practitioners wearing PPE.

A study to evaluate the role of experience in acquisition of the skill of orotracheal intubation in adults

Background and Aims

To evaluate the role of experience in acquisition of skill of orotracheal intubation in adults.

Material and Methods

A prospective randomized study was conducted on 307 patients of either sex, belonging to ASA grade I and II (aged 18-60 years) posted for surgery under general anaesthesia. The patients were subjected to DL and ETI procedure, which was performed by five different groups of participants. Group 1 consisted of first-year resident of anaesthesiology with experience of less than 10 intubations, group 2 for second-year resident, group 3 for third-year resident, group 4 for senior resident and group 5 for consultant. Ease of mask ventilation, time taken for intubation, number of attempts, success rate, and ease of intubation were assessed for all the groups.

Results

Categorical variables were analysed using Chi-square test. For all statistical tests, a P value less than 0.05 was taken as a significant difference. Maximum difficulty in mask ventilation was encountered by group 1 anaesthesiologist, that is, in 69.2% of the patients. Group 1 took maximum time to intubate, that is, 47.98 ± 31.54 sec and least time was taken by group 5 anaesthesiologist (9.55 ± 6.93) sec. First attempt success rate was least in group (80.0%). Group 1 had success rate of 96.9%, whereas rest all groups had 100% success.

Conclusion

Skill of mask ventilation and intubation and time taken for intubation grossly improves with increasing experience. Minimum of 25 intubation attempts should be required by an anaesthesiologist resident in elective scenario to achieve 100% success rate in our study.

Statistical Process Control Charts for Monitoring Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Turnaround in Precision Medicine Initiatives

Purpose

Precision oncology, such as next generation sequencing (NGS) molecular analysis and bioinformatics are used to guide targeted therapies. The laboratory turnaround time (TAT) is a key performance indicator of laboratory performance. This study aims to formally apply statistical process control (SPC) methods such as CUSUM and EWMA to a precision medicine programme to analyze the learning curves of NGS and bioinformatics processes.

Patients and Methods

Trends in NGS and bioinformatics TAT were analyzed using simple regression models with TAT as the dependent variable and chronologically-ordered case number as the independent variable. The M-estimator "robust" regression and negative binomial regression were chosen to serve as sensitivity analyses to each other. Next, two popular statistical process control (SPC) approaches which are CUSUM and EWMA were utilized and the CUSUM log-likelihood ratio (LLR) charts were also generated. All statistical analyses were done in Stata version 16.0 (StataCorp), and nominal P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results

A total of 365 patients underwent successful molecular profiling. Both the robust linear model and negative binomial model showed statistically significant reductions in TAT with accumulating experience. The EWMA and CUSUM charts of overall TAT largely corresponded except that the EWMA chart consistently decreased while the CUSUM analyses indicated improvement only after a nadir at the 82^nd case. CUSUM analysis found that the bioinformatics team took a lower number of cases (54 cases) to overcome the learning curve compared to the NGS team (85 cases).

Conclusion

As NGS and bioinformatics lead precision oncology into the forefront of cancer management, characterizing the TAT of NGS and bioinformatics processes improves the timeliness of data output by potentially spotlighting problems early for rectification, thereby improving care delivery.

Intubation Competence During Neonatal Fellowship Training

OBJECTIVES

To characterize neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows' progression toward neonatal intubation procedural competence during fellowship training.

METHODS

Multi-center cohort study of neonatal intubation encounters performed by neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows between 2014 through 2018 at North American academic centers in the National Emergency Airway Registry for Neonates. Cumulative sum analysis was used to characterize progression of individual fellows' intubation competence, defined by an 80% overall success rate within 2 intubation attempts. We employed multivariable analysis to assess the independent impact of advancing quarter of fellowship training on intubation success.

RESULTS

There were 2297 intubation encounters performed by 92 fellows in 8 hospitals. Of these, 1766 (77%) were successful within 2 attempts. Of the 40 fellows assessed from the start of training, 18 (45%) achieved procedural competence, and 12 (30%) exceeded the deficiency threshold. Among fellows who achieved competence, the number of intubations to meet this threshold was variable, with an absolute range of 8 to 46 procedures. After adjusting for patient and practice characteristics, advancing quarter of training was independently associated with an increased odds of successful intubation (adjusted odds ratio: 1.10; 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.14).

CONCLUSIONS

The number of neonatal intubations required to achieve procedural competence is variable, and overall intubation competence rates are modest. Although repetition leads to skill acquisition for many trainees, some learners may require adjunctive educational strategies. An individualized approach to assess trainees' progression toward intubation competence is warranted.

Difficult Bag-Mask Ventilation in Critically Ill Children Is Independently Associated With Adverse Events

OBJECTIVES

Bag-mask ventilation is commonly used prior to tracheal intubation; however, the epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical implications of difficult bag-mask ventilation among critically ill children are not well studied. This study aims to describe prevalence and risk factors for pediatric difficult bag-mask ventilation as well as its association with adverse tracheal intubation-associated events and oxygen desaturation in PICU patients.

DESIGN

A retrospective review of prospectively collected observational data from a multicenter tracheal intubation database (National Emergency Airway Registry for Children) from January 2013 to December 2018.

SETTING

Forty-six international PICUs.

PATIENTS

Children receiving bag-mask ventilation as a part of tracheal intubation in a PICU.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The primary outcome is the occurrence of either specific tracheal intubation-associated events (hemodynamic tracheal intubation-associated events, emesis with/without aspiration) and/or oxygen desaturation (< 80%). Factors associated with perceived difficult bag-mask ventilation were found using univariate analyses, and multivariable logistic regression identified an independent association between bag-mask ventilation difficulty and the primary outcome. Difficult bag-mask ventilation is reported in 9.5% (n = 1,501) of 15,810 patients undergoing tracheal intubation with bag-mask ventilation during the study period. Difficult bag-mask ventilation is more commonly reported with increasing age, those with a primary respiratory diagnosis/indication for tracheal intubation, presence of difficult airway features, more experienced provider level, and tracheal intubations without use of neuromuscular blockade (p < 0.001). Specific tracheal intubation-associated events or oxygen desaturation events occurred in 40.2% of patients with reported difficult bag-mask ventilation versus 19.8% in patients without perceived difficult bag-mask ventilation (p < 0.001). The presence of difficult bag-mask ventilation is independently associated with an increased risk of the primary outcome: odds ratio, 2.28 (95% CI, 2.03-2.57; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Difficult bag-mask ventilation is reported in approximately one in 10 PICU patients undergoing tracheal intubation. Given its association with adverse procedure-related events and oxygen desaturation, future study is warranted to improve preprocedural planning and real-time management strategies.

Declining Procedures in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Using a National Database

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Objectives:

To investigate the change in rate of invasive procedures (endotracheal intubation, central venous catheters, arterial catheters, and peripheral inserted central venous catheters) performed in PICUs per admission over time. Secondarily, to investigate the change in type of respiratory support over time.

Design:

Retrospective study of prospectively collected data using the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS; LLC, Los Angeles, CA) database.

Setting:

North American PICUs.

Patients:

Patients admitted from January 2009 to December 2017.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

There were 902,624 admissions from 161 PICUs included in the analysis. Since 2009, there has been a decrease in rate of endotracheal intubations, central venous catheters placed, and arterial catheters placed and an increase in the rate of peripheral inserted central venous catheter insertion per admission over time after controlling for severity of illness and unit level effects. As compared to 2009, the incident rate ratio for 2017 for endotracheal intubation was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83–0.98; p = 0.017), for central venous line placement 0.69 (0.63–0.74; p < 0.001), for arterial catheter insertion 0.85 (0.79–0.92; p < 0.001), and for peripheral inserted central venous catheter placement 1.14 (1.03–1.26; p = 0.013). Over this time period, in a subgroup with available data, there was a decrease in the rate of invasive mechanical ventilation and an increase in the rate of noninvasive respiratory support (bilevel positive airway pressure/continuous positive airway pressure and high-flow nasal oxygen) per admission.

Conclusions:

Over 9 years across multiple North American PICUs, the rate of endotracheal intubations, central catheter, and arterial catheter insertions per admission has decreased. The use of invasive mechanical ventilation has decreased with an increase in noninvasive respiratory support. These data support efforts to improve exposure to invasive procedures in training and structured systems to evaluate continued competency.

Intern Orthopedic Rotation Versus Emergency Medicine Procedure Month: Which one Derives More Opportunity?

INTRODUCTION

The American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) defines 18 "key procedures" as requirements in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. The post-graduate year-1 (PGY-1) curriculum provides an early foundation for EM trainees to gain procedural experience, but traditional PGY-1 rotations may not provide robust procedural opportunities. Our objective was to replace a traditional orthopedic rotation with a 4-week rotation that emphasized EM procedure acquisition and comprehension. Although all residents met ACGME procedural requirements before the curricular modification, the purpose of this month was to increase overall procedure numbers. The block contained dedicated procedure shifts in the emergency department as well as an asynchronous, self-directed learning course. We sought to compare the number of procedures performed by PGY-1 residents during their orthopedic rotation (the year before implementation), to the number of procedures performed during their procedure rotation (the year after implementation).

METHODS

The total number of procedures performed and logged by PGY-1 residents during the traditional orthopedic rotation (during the year prior to implementation of the new procedure rotation) were compared to the total number of procedures by the first class to undergo the new procedure rotation the following year. Thirty resident logs were reviewed (15 per class). Data were analyzed using SAS NPAR1WAY; Z < 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

When compared to the orthopedic rotation, the procedure rotation had statistically significant higher numbers of procedures per resident (22, standard deviation [SD] 12, vs 11.4, SD 7.6; Z = 0.0177). A wide variety of nonorthopedic procedures accounted for the increased numbers, (13.6, SD 10.3, vs 0.9, SD 0.9; Z < 0.001). While the average number of orthopedic procedures was slightly less on the procedure rotation, there was no statistical difference (orthopedic rotation 10.13, procedure rotation 8.26; Z = 0.4605). Notably, fewer procedures were performed when 2 residents were on the procedure rotation at the same time (21 vs 10.1).

CONCLUSION

This analysis demonstrated a larger number and a wider variety of procedures performed by PGY-1 residents during a dedicated procedure rotation compared to a traditional orthopedic rotation. Furthermore, exposure to orthopedic procedures did not decline significantly. Limitations of the study include a modest number of subjects. Data may be limited by the consistency of procedure logging by individual residents. Further studies may assess procedural competency after PGY-1 year of training.

A call for collaboration and consensus on training for endotracheal intubation in the medical intensive care unit

Endotracheal intubation (EI) is a potentially lifesaving but high-risk procedure in critically ill patients. While the ACGME mandates that trainees in pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) achieve competence in this procedure, there is wide variation in EI training across the USA. One study suggests that 40% of the US PCCM trainees feel they would not be proficient in EI upon graduation. This article presents a review of the EI training literature; the recommendations of a national group of PCCM, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and pediatric experts; and a call for further research, collaboration, and consensus guidelines.

Intubation during a medevac flight: safety and effect on total prehospital time in the helicopter emergency medical service system

INTRODUCTION

The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) commonly intubates patients who require advanced airway support prior to takeoff. In-flight intubation (IFI) is avoided because it is considered difficult due to limited space, difficulty communicating, and vibration in flight. However, IFI may shorten the total prehospital time. We tested whether IFI can be performed safely by the HEMS.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study in adult patients transported from 2010 to 2017 who received prehospital, non-emergent intubation from a single HEMS. We divided the cohort in two groups, patients intubated during flight (flight group, FG) and patients intubated before takeoff (ground group, GG). The primary outcome was the proportion of successful intubations. Secondary outcomes included total prehospital time and the incidence of complications.

RESULTS

We analyzed 376 patients transported during the study period, 192 patients in the FG and 184 patients in the GG. The intubation success rate did not differ between the two groups (FG 189/192 [98.4%] vs. GG 179/184 [97.3%], p = 0.50). There were also no differences in hypoxia (FG 4/117 [3.4%] vs. GG 4/95 [4.2%], p = 1.00) or hypotension (FG 6/117 [5.1%] vs. GG 5/95 [5.3%], p = 1.00) between the two groups. Scene time and total prehospital time were shorter in the FG (scene time 7 min vs. 14 min, p <  0.001; total prehospital time 33.5 min vs. 40.0 min, p <  0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

IFI was safely performed with high success rates, similar to intubation on the ground, without increasing the risk of hypoxia or hypotension. IFI by experienced providers shortened transportation time, which may improve patient outcomes.

Anatomic accuracy of airway training manikins compared with humans

Airway simulators, or training manikins, are frequently used in research studies for device development and training purposes. This study was designed to determine the anatomic accuracy of the most frequently used low-fidelity airway training manikins. Computerised tomography scans and ruler measurements were taken of the SynDaver^® , Laerdal^® and AirSim^® manikins. These measurements were compared with human computerised tomography (CT) scans (n = 33) from patients at the University of Michigan Medical Center or previously published values. Manikin measurements were scored as a percentile among the distribution of the same measurements in the human population and 10 out of 27 manikin measurements (nine measurements each in three manikins) were outside of two standard deviations from the mean in the participants. All three manikins were visually identifiable as outliers when plotting the first two dimensions from multidimensional scaling. In particular, the airway space between the epiglottis and posterior pharyngeal wall, through which airway devices must pass, was too large in all three manikins. SynDaver, Laerdal and AirSim manikins do not have anatomically correct static dimensions in relation to humans and these inaccuracies may lead to imprecise airway device development, negatively affect training and cause over-confidence in users.

Monitoring surgical quality: the cumulative sum (CUSUM) approach

Monitoring the quality of new or ongoing surgical activities is a necessity. Several Statistical Process Control (SPC) tools are available to professionals. Among them, Shewhart charts and cumulative sum charts (CUSUM charts) are useful methods to provide visual feedback before significant quality issues arise. In this paper, we discuss both methods based on our current approach. On Shewhart charts, one variable value is plotted on a time-series line. This method provides information about every single determination. Random variations of the values appear and by adjusting the adequate control limits it is possible to know whether those variations are random or out-of-control. Although large variations are easily detected, small but relevant changes are not. On the contrary, CUSUM charts have the capability of detecting small changes quickly. CUSUM is defined as a statistical tool that graphically represents the sequential monitoring of cumulative performance of any dichotomized or continuous variable under assessment. It emphasizes failures penalizing them against the correct performance when individual risk is adjusted. This makes CUSUM especially sensitive to negative changes. CUSUM can be created without the need of a specific sample size and grow with every new case included. Besides the variable under control (with specific definitions of acceptable and unacceptable outcomes), the type I and II errors for the defined parameter and the individual risk of acceptable or unacceptable outcomes must be included in the chart. Graphical representation of these three parameters is easy and intuitive to read making CUSUM graphs a reliable tool to understand the trending of the parameter under control. If performance is considered inadequate: analysis, discussion and implementation of agreed measures should be taken. Despite its limitations, CUSUM analysis is considered the best tool for quality control in health care domain.

Examining the Learning Practice of Emergency Airway Management Within an Academic Medical Center: Implications for Training and Improving Outcomes

Emergency airway management (EAM) is a "high stakes" clinical practice, associated with a significant risk of procedure-related complications and patient mortality. Learning within the EAM team practice is complex and challenging for trainees. Increasing concern for patient safety and changes in the structure of medical education have resulted in educational challenges and opportunities for improvement within the EAM team practice. This paper is divided into 3 sections that describe the past, present, and future of the EAM team learning practice within a large academic institution. Section 1 provides a brief overview of the evolution of the existing practice of EAM. Key features, goals, and challenges of the practice are outlined and a recently performed needs analysis to identify areas for improvement is described. Section 2 examines the underlying assumptions regarding learning within the existing practice and explores how these assumptions fit into major theories of learning. Section 3 proposes an idealized learning practice for the EAM team which includes the assumptions regarding learners, design of the learning environment, use of technology to enhance learning, and the means of assessment and measuring success. It is hoped that through this systematic exploration of the EAM team practice, learning efficacy and efficiency will be improved and remain adaptable for challenges in the future.

Testing of novel spectral device sensor in swine model of airway obstruction

Loss of a patent airway is a significant cause of prehospital death. Endotracheal intubation is the gold standard of care but has a high rate of failure and complications, making development of new devices vital. We previously showed that tracheal tissue has a unique spectral profile which could be utilized to confirm correct airway device placement. Therefore, the goals of this study were twofold: 1- to develop an airway obstruction model and 2- use that model to assess how airway compromise affects tissue reflectance. Female swine were anesthetized, intubated, and instrumented. Pigs were allowed to breathe spontaneously and underwent either slow- or rapid-onset obstruction until a real-time pulse oximeter reading of ≤50%. At baseline, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% obstruction, a fiber-optic reflection probe was inserted into the trachea and esophagus to capture reflectance spectra. Both slow- and rapid-onset obstruction significantly decreased arterial oxygen concentration (sO₂ ) and increased partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂ ). The presence of the tracheal-defining spectral profile was confirmed and remained consistent despite changes in sO₂ and pCO₂ . This study validated a model of slow- and rapid-airway obstruction that results in significant hypoxia and hypercapnia. This is valuable for future testing of airway device components that may improve airway management. Additionally, our data support the ability of spectral reflectance to differentiate between tracheal and esophageal tissues in the presence of a clinical condition that decreases oxygen saturation.

The teaching order of using direct laryngoscopy first may improve the learning outcome of endotracheal incubation: A preliminary, randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is a life-saving procedure taught to medical students. We examined the influence of the order of teaching ETI through direct laryngoscopy (DL) and video laryngoscopy (VL) on learning by measuring the intubation time and learning curve of trainees, in order to explore ways to improve ETI performance.

METHODS

Twenty trainees were randomly divided into 2 groups. In the DL-first group, trainees used DL to perform ETI 10 times and then used VL 10 times, while the order was reversed in the VL-first group. Intubation time, number of intubation attempts, the Cormack-Lehane (CL) classification, and adverse events were recorded. The primary outcome was the cumulative summation (CUSUM). The CUSUM equation is defined as (Equation is included in full-text article.), where ct is the cumulative sum.

RESULTS

ETI was attempted on 400 patients. The difference in the mean times for the first 10 intubations between the 2 groups was not significant (P > .05). Mean intubation time for second series in the DL-first group was significantly shorter than that of the first series (P < .05), while there were no differences between the 2 series in the VL-first group (P > .05). The mean intubation time in the second series of the DL-first group was shorter than for the first series of the VL-first group (P < .05), while the mean intubation time of the first series by the DL-first group did not differ from the second series by the VL-first group (P > .05). Eighteen attempts were required to achieve an 80% intubation success rate for the DL-first group, while more than 20 attempts were required for the trainees in the VL-first group.

CONCLUSION

We consider that teaching trainees DL for tracheal intubation first.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

ChiCTR-OOR-16008364.

Learning curve-cumulative summation analysis of visual estimation of left ventricular function in novice practitioners: A STROBE-compliant article

The aim of the present study was to determine the value of cumulative summation (CUSUM) analysis in assessing the proficiency of novice practitioners in estimating the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF).Seven novice practitioners with no echocardiography experience were recruited in this observational study. Each practitioner assessed EF from echocardiographic video files of 100 cases, one by one, and received feedback and teaching. We obtained a CUSUM score through comparison of the gold standard values of EF and the EF values determined by the practitioners. Then, the practitioners underwent the same test 4 weeks later, except without feedback and teaching, using echocardiographic video files from 100 other cases.The mean number of visual estimation cases required to pass the learning curve (LC)-CUSUM test was 56.3 ± 9.1 (95% CI 47.8-64.7). The LC-CUSUM average of the 7 novice practitioners showed improvement in visual estimation skill, with an average acceptable level achieved after a mean experience of 55 cases. In the test performed after 4 weeks, 5 of the 7 novice practitioners showed significantly good overall agreement. All novice practitioners had a kappa coefficient greater than .8, and significant and almost perfect agreement was observed. All the participants exhibited a percentage of correct answers greater than 81%.We found that the novice practitioners could acquire an acceptable level of skill for estimating EF with short-term, self-learning-focused echocardiographic training.

Physician-based on-scene airway management in severely injured patients and in-hospital consequences: is the misplaced intubation an underestimated danger in trauma management?

Background

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is the gold standard for the out-of-hospital emergency airway management in severely injured patients. Due to time-critical circumstances, poor patient presentation and hostile environments, it may be prone for mechanical complications and failure.

Methods

In a retrospective study (January 2011 to December 2013), all patients who underwent out-of-hospital ETI before admittance to a level 1 trauma center were analyzed consecutively. Patients with supraglottic airways, being under cardiopulmonary resuscitation and interfacility transports were excluded. The main study endpoint was the incidence of unrecognized tube malposition; secondary endpoints were Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and in-hospital mortality adjusted to on-scene Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), Abbreviated Injury Scale head (AIS head), and on-scene time.

Results

Out of 1176 patients, 151 underwent out-of-hospital ETI. At hospital admission, tube malpositions were recognized in nine patients (5.9%). Accidental and unrecognized esophageal intubation was detected in five patients (3.3%) and bronchial intubation in four patients (2.7%). Although ISS (p=0.053), AIS head (p=0.469), on-scene GCS (p=0.151), on-scene time (p=0.530), GOS (p=0.748) and in-hospital mortality (p=0.431) were similar compared with correctly positioned ETI tubes, three esophageal intubation patients died due to hypoxemic complications.

Discussion

In our study sample, out-of-hospital emergency ETI in severely injured patients was associated with a considerable tube misplacement rate. For safety, increased compliance to consequently use available technologies (eg, capnography, video laryngoscopy) for emergency ETI should be warranted.

Level of evidence

Level of Evidence IIA.

Performance Standards of Comprehensive Airway Management for Emergency Medicine Residents

BACKGROUND

The Emergency Medicine (EM) Milestone Project provides guidance for assessment of resident trainee airway management proficiency (PC10). Although milestones provide a general structure for assessment, they do not define performance standards. The objective of this project was to establish comprehensive airway management performance standards for EM trainees at both novice and mastery levels of proficiency.

METHODS

Comprehensive airway management standards were derived using standard-setting procedures. A panel of residency education and airway management experts was convened to determine how trainees would be expected to perform on 51 individual tasks in a standardized airway management simulation encompassing preparation, endotracheal intubation, backup airway use, and ventilation. Experts participated in facilitated exercises in which they were asked to 1) define which items were critical for patient safety, 2) predict the performance of a "novice" learner, and 3) predict the performance of a "mastery" learner nearing independent practice. Experts were given a worksheet to complete and descriptive statistics were calculated using STATA 14.

RESULTS

Experts identified 39 of 51 (76%) airway management items as critical for patient safety. Experts also noted that novice trainees do not need to complete all the items deemed to be critical prior to starting practice since they will be supervised by a board-certified EM physician. In contrast, mastery-level trainees would be expected to successfully complete not only the critical tasks, but also nearly all the items in the assessment (49/51, 96%) since they are nearing independent practice.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we established EM resident performance standards for comprehensive airway management during a simulation scenario. Future work will focus on validating these performance standards in current resident trainees as they move from simulation to actual patient care.

Self-Formation Assessed by Cumulative Summation Test Does Not Reach Recommended Thresholds for Optical Diagnosis of Colorectal Polyps ≤ 7 mm

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Accurate optical diagnosis of diminutive polyps would allow implementing a resect and discard strategy. We evaluated the learning curve of a single training session followed by self-education in subjects with no endoscopic experience.

METHODS

Learning curves were evaluated in 38 subjects employing learning curve-cumulative summation (LC-CUSUM) tests, with each participant attending one training session regarding narrow band imaging and optical diagnosis and then individually assessing 100 lesions, receiving feedback after each diagnosis. Diagnostic accuracy was subsequently evaluated in 180 patients with lesions ≤ 7 mm. Evaluators predicted each polyp's histology and recommended a surveillance interval. Determinants of accuracy were explored using regression analysis.

RESULTS

According to the LC-CUSUM curve, 20 evaluators (52.6%) reached diagnostic competence after 57 lesions (IQR 55-76.5). During the diagnostic performance assessment, 11,666 diagnoses and 6840 follow-up recommendations were generated. Considering high confidence diagnoses, accuracy was 81.3% (80.5-82.1%), negative predictive value (NPV) for rectosigmoid adenomas 78.6% (76.4-80.6%), and sensitivity for adenomas 86.6% (85.8-87.4%). Two (5.3%) evaluators reached a ≥ 90% accuracy, 3 (7.9%) presented a NPV for rectosigmoid adenomas ≥ 90%, and 18 (47.4%) a sensitivity for adenomas ≥ 90%. Multivariable logistic regression showed high confidence and size ≥ 5 mm as the strongest predictors of accuracy. Fifteen (39.5%) evaluators recommended a correct or reduced follow-up interval in over 90% of subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-formation after a single training session did not allow most evaluators to reach the required accuracy. LC-CUSUM tests did not identify competent evaluators. Despite these results, 86.7% of follow-up intervals would have been corrected or reduced.

How much experience do rescuers require to achieve successful tracheal intubation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

AIM

The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines recommend that endotracheal intubation (ETI) should be performed only by highly skilled rescuers. However, the definition of 'highly skilled' is unclear. This study evaluated how much experience with ETI is required for rescuers to perform successful ETI quickly without complications including serious chest compression interruption (interruption time <10 s) or oesophageal intubation during CPR.

METHODS

This was a clinical observation study using review of CPR video clips in an urban emergency department (ED) over 2 years. Accumulated ETI experience and performance of ETI were analysed. Main outcomes were 1) 'qualified ETI': successful ETI within 60 s without complications and 2) 'highly qualified ETI': successful ETI within 30 s without complications.

RESULTS

We analysed 110 ETIs using direct laryngoscopy during CPR. The success rate improved and the time to successful ETI decreased with increasing experience; however, the total interruption time of chest compression did not decrease. A 90% success rate for qualified ETI required 137 experiences of ETIs (1218 days of training). A 90% success rate for highly qualified ETI required at least 243 experiences of ETIs (1973 days of training).

CONCLUSIONS

Accumulated experience can improve the ETI success rate and time to successful ETI during CPR. Because ETI must be performed quickly without serious interruption of chest compression during CPR, becoming proficient at ETI requires more experience than that required for non-arrest patients. In our analysis, more than 240 experiences were required to achieve a 90% success rate of highly qualified ETI.

Declining Procedures by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Trainees

Background: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees need to acquire skills to perform procedures. Over the last several years there have been advances that allowed for less invasive forms of interventions. Objective: Our hypothesis was that over the past decade the rate of procedures performed by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees decreased. Methods: Retrospective review at a single institution, tertiary, academic, children's hospital of patients admitted from July 1, 2007-June 30, 2017 to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit. A Poisson regression model with a scale adjustment for over-dispersion estimated by the square root of Pearson's Chi-Square/DOF was applied. Results: There has been a statistically significant decrease in the average rate of central venous lines (p = 0.004; -5.72; 95% CI: -9.45, -1.82) and arterial lines (p = 0.02; -7.8; 95% CI: -13.90, -1.25) per Fellow per years in Fellowship over the last 10 years. There was no difference in the rate of intubations per Fellow per years in Fellowship (p = 0.27; 1.86; 95% CI:-1.38, 5.24). Conclusions: There has been a statistically significant decrease in the rate of central venous lines and arterial lines performed by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees per number of years in Fellowship over the last 10 years. Educators need to be constantly reassessing the clinical landscape in an effort to make sure that trainees are receiving adequate educational experiences as this has the potential for an impact on the education of trainees and the safety of the patients that they care for.

Value of the cumulative sum test for the assessment of a learning curve: Application to the introduction of patient-specific instrumentation for total knee arthroplasty in an academic department

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to use the cumulative summation (CUSUM) test to assess the learning curve during the introduction of a new surgical technique (patient-specific instrumentation) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in an academic department.

METHODS

The first 50TKAs operated on at an academic department using patient-specific templates (PSTs) were scheduled to enter the study. All patients had a preoperative computed tomography scan evaluation to plan bone resections. The PSTs were positioned intraoperatively according to the best-fit technique and their three-dimensional orientation was recorded by a navigation system. The position of the femur and tibia PST was compared to the planned position for four items for each component: coronal and sagittal orientation, medial and lateral height of resection. Items were summarized to obtain knee, femur and tibia PST scores, respectively. These scores were plotted according to chronological order and included in a CUSUM analysis. The tested hypothesis was that the PST process for TKA was immediately under control after its introduction.

RESULTS

CUSUM test showed that positioning of the PST significantly differed from the target throughout the study. There was a significant difference between all scores and the maximal score. No case obtained the maximal score of eight points. The study was interrupted after 20 cases because of this negative evaluation.

CONCLUSION

The CUSUM test is effective in monitoring the learning curve when introducing a new surgical procedure. Introducing PST for TKA in an academic department may be associated with a long-lasting learning curve. The study was registered on the clinical.gov website (Identifier NCT02429245).

A Multicenter, Randomized Trial of Ramped Position vs Sniffing Position During Endotracheal Intubation of Critically Ill Adults

BACKGROUND

Hypoxemia is the most common complication during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults. Intubation in the ramped position has been hypothesized to prevent hypoxemia by increasing functional residual capacity and decreasing the duration of intubation, but has never been studied outside of the operating room.

METHODS

Multicenter, randomized trial comparing the ramped position (head of the bed elevated to 25°) with the sniffing position (torso supine, neck flexed, and head extended) among 260 adults undergoing endotracheal intubation by pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows in four ICUs between July 22, 2015, and July 19, 2016. The primary outcome was lowest arterial oxygen saturation between induction and 2 minutes after intubation. Secondary outcomes included Cormack-Lehane grade of glottic view, difficulty of intubation, and number of laryngoscopy attempts.

RESULTS

The median lowest arterial oxygen saturation was 93% (interquartile range [IQR], 84%-99%) with the ramped position vs 92% (IQR, 79%-98%) with the sniffing position (P = .27). The ramped position appeared to increase the incidence of grade III or IV view (25.4% vs 11.5%, P = .01), increase the incidence of difficult intubation (12.3% vs 4.6%, P = .04), and decrease the rate of intubation on the first attempt (76.2% vs 85.4%, P = .02), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In this multicenter trial, the ramped position did not improve oxygenation during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults compared with the sniffing position. The ramped position may worsen glottic view and increase the number of laryngoscopy attempts required for successful intubation.

TRIAL REGISTRY

ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02497729; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Simulation as a Tool to Ensure Competency and Quality of Care in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit

Cardiac critical care units are high-risk clinical environments. Medical emergencies are frequent and require the intervention of a cohesive, efficient, and well trained interprofessional team. In modern clinical practice there is increased emphasis on safety but also increased lack of acceptance of medical errors and as a consequence, increased litigation. In the past decade, simulation-based learning has arisen as an effective and safe means to learn and practice acute care setting skills. It has been used and studied in different contexts including procedural skills training, crisis resource management and team training, patient and family member communication skills, and health care system quality improvement. Simulation-based education is a relatively recent teaching strategy and evidence of its efficacy continues to grow. Nevertheless, many influential medical societies are now promoting a simulation-based approach for cardiovascular training and continuing medical education. In this article we review the simulation literature in the intensive care unit and evaluate its integration in coronary care units and postoperative cardiovascular intensive care units. We also provide resources for educators and clinicians who wish to implement simulation workshops in these settings.

The effect of peer-group size on the delivery of feedback in basic life support refresher training: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Students are largely providing feedback to one another when instructor facilitates peer feedback rather than teaching in group training. The number of students in a group affect the learning of students in the group training. We aimed to investigate whether a larger group size increases students' test scores on a post-training test with peer feedback facilitated by instructor after video-guided basic life support (BLS) refresher training. Students' one-rescuer adult BLS skills were assessed by a 2-min checklist-based test 1 year after the initial training.

METHODS

A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of student number in a group on BLS refresher training. Participants included 115 final-year medical students undergoing their emergency medicine clerkship. The median number of students was 8 in the large groups and 4 in the standard group. The primary outcome was to examine group differences in post-training test scores after video-guided BLS training. Secondary outcomes included the feedback time, number of feedback topics, and results of end-of-training evaluation questionnaires.

RESULTS

Scores on the post-training test increased over three consecutive tests with instructor-led peer feedback, but not differ between large and standard groups. The feedback time was longer and number of feedback topics generated by students were higher in standard groups compared to large groups on the first and second tests. The end-of-training questionnaire revealed that the students in large groups preferred the smaller group size compared to their actual group size.

CONCLUSIONS

In this BLS refresher training, the instructor-led group feedback increased the test score after tutorial video-guided BLS learning, irrespective of the group size. A smaller group size allowed more participations in peer feedback.

The Development of Tracheal Intubation Proficiency Outside the Operating Suite During Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Training: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Cumulative Sum Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Tracheal intubation is a core technical skill for pediatric critical care medicine fellows. Limited data exist to describe current pediatric critical care medicine fellow tracheal intubation skill acquisition through the training. We hypothesized that both overall and first-attempt tracheal intubation success rates by pediatric critical care medicine fellows improve over the course of training.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study at a single large academic children's hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The National Emergency Airway Registry for Children database and local QI database were merged for all tracheal intubations outside the Operating Suite by pediatric critical care medicine fellows from July 2011 to January 2015. Primary outcomes were tracheal intubation overall success (regardless of number of attempts) and first attempt success. Patient-level covariates were adjusted in multivariate analysis. Learning curves for each fellow were constructed by cumulative sum analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 730 tracheal intubation courses performed by 33 fellows were included in the analysis. The unadjusted overall and first attempt success rates were 87% and 80% during the first 3 months of fellowship, respectively, and 95% and 73%, respectively, during the past 3 months of fellowship. Overall success, but not first attempt success, improved during fellowship training (odds ratio for each 3 months, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17; p = 0.037) after adjusting for patient-level covariates. Large variance in fellow's tracheal intubation proficiency outside the operating suite was demonstrated with a median number of tracheal intubation equal to 26 (range, 19-54) to achieve a 90% overall success rate. All fellows who completed 3 years of training during the study period achieved an acceptable 90% overall tracheal intubation success rate.

CONCLUSIONS

Tracheal intubation overall success improved significantly during the course of fellowship; however, the tracheal intubation first attempt success rates did not. Large variance existed in individual tracheal intubation performance over time. Further investigations on a larger scale across different training programs are necessary to clarify intensity and duration of the training to achieve tracheal intubation procedural competency.

Comparisons of the Pentax-AWS, Glidescope, and Macintosh Laryngoscopes for Intubation Performance during Mechanical Chest Compressions in Left Lateral Tilt: A Randomized Simulation Study of Maternal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Purpose. Rapid advanced airway management is important in maternal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study aimed to compare intubation performances among Pentax-AWS (AWS), Glidescope (GVL), and Macintosh laryngoscope (MCL) during mechanical chest compression in 15° and 30° left lateral tilt. Methods. In 19 emergency physicians, a prospective randomized crossover study was conducted to examine the three laryngoscopes. Primary outcomes were the intubation time and the success rate for intubation. Results. The median intubation time using AWS was shorter than that of GVL and MCL in both tilt degrees. The time to visualize the glottic view in GVL and AWS was significantly lower than that of MCL (all P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference between the two video laryngoscopes (in 15° tilt, P = 1; in 30° tilt, P = 0.71). The progression of tracheal tube using AWS was faster than that of MCL and GVL in both degrees (all P < 0.001). Intubations using AWS and GVL showed higher success rate than that of Macintosh laryngoscopes. Conclusions. The AWS could be an appropriate laryngoscope for airway management of pregnant women in tilt CPR considering intubation time and success rate.

Learning curve for EUS in gastric cancer T staging by using cumulative sum analysis

BACKGROUND

EUS is an operator-dependent procedure and requires more technical and cognitive skills than a routine endoscopic procedure. The learning curve for the staging of gastric cancer, however, has not been evaluated.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the threshold number of EUS examinations for gastric cancer T staging.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

University-affiliated tertiary care hospital in the Republic of Korea.

PATIENTS

Four trainees with no previous EUS experience.

INTERVENTION

Analyzing performance of EUS trainees in gastric cancer T staging by using cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

CUSUM plot and a minimal number of procedures for reaching a plateau.

RESULTS

A total of 553 initial EUS examinations for treatment-naïve gastric cancers, performed by trainees, were enrolled in the study. The final T stage was determined by experts by using EUS in 332 gastric cancer cases, whereas the T stage of the other 221 lesions was determined by trainees by using EUS. The accuracy of EUS examinations performed by trainees and experts was 72.6% and 84.3%, respectively. The number of EUS examinations required to reach the first plateau in each trainee was 20, 41, 60, and 65.

LIMITATIONS

Retrospective study with a relatively small number of trainees.

CONCLUSION

The CUSUM scores of all of 4 trainees in the study reached a plateau by the 65th examination.

Learning curves of macintosh laryngoscope in nurse anesthetist trainees using cumulative sum method

Background. Tracheal intubation is a potentially life-saving procedure. This skill is taught to many anesthetic healthcare professionals, including nurse anesthetists. Our goal was to evaluate the learning ability of nurse anesthetist trainees in their performance of orotracheal intubation with the Macintosh laryngoscope. Methods. Eleven nurse anesthetist trainees were enrolled in the study during the first three months of their training. All trainees attended formal lectures and practice sessions with manikins at least one time on performing successful tracheal intubation under supervision of anesthesiology staff. Learning curves for each nurse anesthetist trainee were constructed with the standard cumulative summation (cusum) methods. Results. Tracheal intubation was attempted on 388 patients. Three hundred and six patients (78.9%) were successfully intubated on the trainees' first attempt and 17 patients (4.4%) on the second attempt. The mean ± SD number of orotracheal intubations per trainee was 35.5 ± 5.1 (range 30-47). Ten (90.9%) of 11 trainees crossed the 20% acceptable failure rate line. A median of 22 procedures was required to achieve an 80% orotracheal intubations success rate. Conclusion. At least 22 procedures were required to reach an 80% success rate for orotracheal intubation using Macintosh laryngoscope in nonexperienced nurse anesthetist trainees.