Education based on publicly-available keyword data is associated with decreased stress and improved trajectory of in-training exam performance.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the impact of data-driven didactic sessions on metrics including fund of knowledge, resident confidence in clinical topics, and stress in addition to American Board of Anesthesiology In-Training Examination (ITE) percentiles. DESIGN: Observational mixed-methods study. SETTING: Classroom, video-recorded e-learning. SUBJECTS: Anesthesiology residents from two academic medical centers. INTERVENTIONS: Residents were offered a data-driven didactic session, focused on lifelong learning regarding frequently asked/missed topics based on publicly-available data. MEASUREMENTS: Residents were surveyed regarding their confidence on exam topics, organization of study plan, willingness to educate others, and stress levels. Residents at one institution were interviewed post-ITE. The level and trend in ITE percentiles were compared before and after the start of this initiative using segmented regression analysis. RESULTS: Ninety-four residents participated in the survey. A comparison of pre-post responses showed an increased mean level of confidence (4.5 ± 1.6 vs. 6.2 ± 1.4; difference in means 95% CI:1.7[1.5,1.9]), sense of study organization (3.8 ± 1.6 vs. 6.7 ± 1.3;95% CI:2.8[2.5,3.1]), willingness to educate colleagues (4.0 ± 1.7 vs. 5.7 ± 1.9;95% CI:1.7[1.4,2.0]), and reduced stress levels (5.9 ± 1.9 vs. 5.2 ± 1.7;95% CI:-0.7[-1.0,-0.4]) (all p < 0.001). Thirty-one residents from one institution participated in the interviews. Interviews exhibited qualitative themes associated with increased fund of knowledge, accessibility of high-yield resources, and domains from the Kirkpatrick Classification of an educational intervention. In an assessment of 292 residents from 2012 to 2020 at one institution, there was a positive change in mean ITE percentile (adjusted intercept shift [95% CI] 11.0[3.6,18.5];p = 0.004) and trajectory over time after the introduction of data-driven didactics. CONCLUSION: Data-driven didactics was associated with improved resident confidence, stress, and factors related to wellness. It was also associated with a change from a negative to positive trend in ITE percentiles over time. Future assessment of data-driven didactics and impact on resident outcomes are needed.

Anesthesia Learning in the Digital Age: Are Program Directors and Residents on the Same Page?

BACKGROUND: In our current digital age, textbooks have been supplemented or supplanted by multiple online modalities for knowledge acquisition. Trainees, often from a younger generation than their program directors (PDs), prefer asynchronous options such as podcasts, videos, and question banks. We sought to identify whether an educational gap exists between PDs and trainees regarding what is assigned and what is used. METHODS: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted in the United States in 2018-2019 to characterize anesthesiology resident and PD perceptions of academic knowledge acquisition. RESULTS: Of the 149 PDs, 85 completed the survey (57%). Of the 85 PDs, 36 forwarded the survey to residents. Of the 1414 residents who received the survey, 503 residents responded to the survey (36%). The PDs thought residents used didactics, assigned reading, and scheduled simulations more than residents reported (P < .001). Residents reported using self-directed learning more (P = .004). Most residents (74.1%) reported using textbooks or online reading materials. Those residents reporting >70th percentile on the In-Training Exam used textbooks or online materials more than those who reported low scores (<30th percentile; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: There is a discrepancy between PD and resident views on where and how knowledge acquisition occurs. Asynchronous forms of education (especially podcasts) are popular, but they are rarely assigned by programs. Although residents have a wide variety of learning preferences, textbook and online reading may be associated with higher In-Training Exam scores (a common way that knowledge acquisition is measured). The PDs should consider providing multiple options for optimizing knowledge acquisition, including textbook reading, to meet resident preferences and maximize testing success.

Do You Really Mean It? Assessing the Strength, Frequency, and Reliability of Applicant Commitment Statements During the Anesthesiology Residency Match.

BACKGROUND: Despite the critical nature of the residency interview process, few metrics have been shown to adequately predict applicant success in matching to a given program. While evaluating and ranking potential candidates, bias can occur when applicants make commitment statements to a program. Survey data show that pressure to demonstrate commitment leads applicants to express commitment to multiple institutions including telling >1 program that they will rank them #1. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional observational study is to evaluate the frequency of commitment statements from applicants to 5 anesthesiology departments during a single interview season, report how often each statement is associated with a successful match, and identify how frequently candidates incorrectly represented commitments to rank a program #1. METHODS: During the 2014 interview season, 5 participating anesthesiology programs collected written and verbal communications from applicants. Three residency program directors independently reviewed the statements to classify them into 1 of 3 categories; guaranteed commitment, high rank commitment, or strong interest. Each institution provided a deidentified rank list with associated commitment statements, biographical data, whether candidates were ranked-to-match, and if they successfully matched. RESULTS: Program directors consistently differentiated among strong interest, high rank, and guaranteed commitment statements with κ coefficients of 0.9 (95% CI, 0.8-0.9) or greater between any pair of reviewers. Overall, 35.8% of applicants (226/632) provided a statement demonstrating at least strong interest and 5.4% (34/632) gave guaranteed commitment statements. Guaranteed commitment statements resulted in a 95.7% match rate to that program in comparison to statements of high rank (25.6%), strong interest (14.6%), and those who provided no statement (5.9%). For those providing guaranteed commitment statements, it can be assumed that the 1 candidate (4.3%) who did not match incorrectly represented himself. Variables such as couples match, "R" positions, and not being ranked-to-match on both advanced and categorical rank lists were eliminated because they can result in a nonmatch despite truthfully ranking a program #1. CONCLUSIONS: Each level of commitment statement resulted in a progressively increased frequency of a successful match to the recipient program. Only 5.4% of applicants committed to rank a program #1, but these statements were very reliable. These data can help program directors interpret commitment statements and assist accurate evaluation of the interest of candidates throughout the match process.

Resident-Driven Quality Improvement Project in Perioperative Hand Hygiene.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of the project was to improve hand hygiene compliance in the perioperative setting while involving anesthesia residents in quality improvement. To achieve this goal, we facilitated direct trainee participation on patient safety and quality improvement initiatives. The result was a project for perioperative hand hygiene improvement conceived and led by anesthesiology residents. METHODS: Anesthesiology residents contributed project ideas and participated in problem-based learning discussions to develop several interventions for improving perioperative hand hygiene compliance. Interventions included electronic and laminated posters, reminder cards, monthly aggregated performance feedback, and a simulation-based hand hygiene workshop. Monthly hand hygiene compliance data were gathered during unannounced observations for a 29-month period. Run chart analysis and χ test were used to determine the impact of these interventions on compliance rates. RESULTS: A total of 1122 hand hygiene observations were made for 29 months. Run chart analysis showed a nonrandom shift and increasing trend during the postintervention period. The baseline hand hygiene rate was 68% (95% CI [65%-72%], n = 661), which increased to 79% post-intervention (95% CI [76%-83%], n = 461, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our resident-led hand hygiene program used a multifaceted approach to drive sustained increases in perioperative hand hygiene compliance, while directly engaging house staff in quality improvement initiatives.

Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Propensity Matched Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine patient acuity and perioperative outcomes in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing either transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). DESIGN: A retrospective propensity-matched cohort study with univariable logistic regression to assess postoperative outcomes. SETTING: Hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 2,043 patients who underwent either TAVR or SAVR that was reported in the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Age greater than 65 years, patients with dyspnea with moderate exertion or dependence in activities of daily living, high American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, and history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were associated with TAVR, whereas body mass index greater than 25 was associated with SAVR. After propensity matching, no differences in 30-day mortality, length of stay, or most postoperative outcomes were observed between the 2 cohorts. Patients undergoing TAVR were less likely to require a perioperative blood transfusion and on an individual patient basis had a lower number of complications than patients in the SAVR group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing TAVR have similar mortality, length of stay, and risk for postoperative complications as do patients undergoing SAVR, but patients undergoing TAVR are less likely to have blood transfused.

Proof of Concept for a Novel Curriculum: Learning a Second Language during Anesthesiology Residency.

This article describes a novel curriculum for anesthesiology residents matriculating through Brigham and Women's Department of Anesthesiology. It is offered electively and provides physician residents with time to acquire language skills through a medically-focused immersion program abroad. It is designed for them to learn or improve a second language and then to speak it while practicing perioperative medicine. Ultimately, the elective curriculum will equip future anesthesiologists with the communication tools to deliver professional and compassionate patient care both within the United States and internationally.

Use of Historical Surgical Times to Predict Duration of Primary Aortic Valve Replacement.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether a model using a historical average of a surgeon's surgical times for primary aortic valve replacements is a more accurate predictor of actual surgical times than solely relying on a surgeon's estimate. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Single university hospital that serves as a tertiary referral center. PARTICIPANTS: All patients undergoing primary aortic valve replacement between October 2008 and September 2014. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Estimation biases, calculated as the difference between actual and predicted surgical time, were compared between the surgeon and the model, which included between 2 and 20 cases in the historical average. Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance was used to compare all values. Pairwise comparisons were made using the Steel-Dwass test to determine whether using more cases in the model resulted in smaller estimation biases. Using the historical model reduced mean overestimation bias from 55.30 minutes to 0.90-to-4.67 minutes. No significant difference was seen based on the number of cases used. CONCLUSIONS: An uncomplicated model can assist in providing comparatively unbiased estimations of surgical time for aortic valve replacements. The model can rely on a fewer number of cases (eg, 5) and does not benefit from including more cases (eg, 20).

Unplanned Reintubation Following Cardiac Surgery: Incidence, Timing, Risk Factors, and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence, timing, risk factors for, and outcomes after unplanned reintubation following cardiac surgery in adults. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of admission data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project Database, 2007-2013, inclusive. Univariate and multivariate analyses of risk factors and outcomes. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 18,571 patients, over 18 years of age, undergoing cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Reintubation incidence was 4.0%. Risk factors included older age, preoperative partial or total dependence, dyspnea at rest or on exertion, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous cardiac surgery, congestive heart failure, emergency surgery, longer duration of surgery, and mitral and tricuspid valve surgery. Patients requiring reintubation after surgery had 7.5 times higher mortality (21.9% v 2.9%), longer hospital admissions (22.2 v 7.8 days), and were less likely to be discharged home within 30 days (35% v 80%). Multivariate analysis demonstrated increased risk of failure to wean from the ventilator, pneumonia, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and discharge to skilled care, rehabilitation, or other care. CONCLUSIONS: Patients reintubated after cardiac surgery had significantly higher mortality, complication rates, and length of stay. Novel risk factors identified could be used to tailor extubation timing and strategy appropriately. Compared to noncardiac surgery, some risk factors for reintubation differed and risk continued beyond the immediate postoperative period to a greater degree.

Complex Perioperative Decision-Making: Liver Resection in a Patient with Extensive Superior Vena Cava/Right Atrial Thrombus and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome.

The perioperative management of patients suffering from extensive superior vena cava (SVC) thrombus complicated by SVC syndrome presents unique challenges. The anesthesiologist needs to be prepared for possible thrombus dislodgement resulting in pulmonary embolism and also has to assess the need for fluid resuscitation given the dangers of massive intravenous fluid application via the upper extremities. We present our perioperative approach in management of a patient scheduled for right hepatectomy who was previously diagnosed with extensive SVC and right atrial (RA) thrombus complicated by SVC syndrome.

Rate of Major Anesthetic-Related Outcomes in the Intraoperative and Immediate Postoperative Period After Cardiac Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To examine anesthesia-centered outcomes in a large cohort of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or valvular heart surgery. DESIGN: A retrospective study with univariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify independent predictors for mortality. SETTING: Diverse setting including university, small, medium, and large community hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: All patients undergoing CABG or valve surgery in the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR) from the Anesthesia Quality Institute. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Common anesthesia-centered outcomes including arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, death, hemodynamic instability, hypotension, inadequate pain control, nausea/vomiting, seizure, stroke, reintubation and transfusion were reported. All outcomes, consistent with NACOR data entry, were defined as occurring intraoperatively or during phase I or II recovery in the PACU. Death occurred in 0.15% of CABGs and 0.23% of valve surgeries. Age less than 18, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA PS) classification of 5, and mean case duration greater than 6 hours were associated with increased mortality (p<0.05). The presence of a board-certified anesthesiologist was associated with decreased odds for mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Death was a rare outcome in this cohort, reflecting the infrequent occurrence of intraoperative or immediate postoperative death. The presence of a board-certified anesthesiologist represented a modifiable risk factor for reducing mortality risk.

A Smartphone-based Decision Support Tool Improves Test Performance Concerning Application of the Guidelines for Managing Regional Anesthesia in the Patient Receiving Antithrombotic or Thrombolytic Therapy.

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) consensus statement on regional anesthesia in the patient receiving antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy is the standard for evaluation and management of these patients. The authors hypothesized that an electronic decision support tool (eDST) would improve test performance compared with native physician behavior concerning the application of this guideline. METHODS: Anesthesiology trainees and faculty at 8 institutions participated in a prospective, randomized trial in which they completed a 20-question test involving clinical scenarios related to the ASRA guidelines. The eDST group completed the test using an iOS app programmed to contain decision logic and content of the ASRA guidelines. The control group completed the test by using any resource in addition to the app. A generalized linear mixed-effects model was used to examine the effect of the intervention. RESULTS: After obtaining institutional review board's approval and informed consent, 259 participants were enrolled and randomized (eDST = 122; control = 137). The mean score was 92.4 ± 6.6% in the eDST group and 68.0 ± 15.8% in the control group (P < 0.001). eDST use increased the odds of selecting correct answers (7.8; 95% CI, 5.7 to 10.7). Most control group participants (63%) used some cognitive aid during the test, and they scored higher than those who tested from memory alone (76 ± 15% vs. 57 ± 18%, P < 0.001). There was no difference in time to completion of the test (P = 0.15) and no effect of training level (P = 0.56). CONCLUSIONS: eDST use improved application of the ASRA guidelines compared with the native clinician behavior in a testing environment.

Academic productivity of directors of ACGME-accredited residency programs in surgery and anesthesiology.

BACKGROUND: Scholarly activity is expected of program directors of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency training programs. Anesthesiology residency programs are cited more often than surgical programs for deficiencies in academic productivity. We hypothesized that this may in part reflect differences in scholarly activity between program directors of anesthesiology and surgical trainings programs. To test the hypothesis, we examined the career track record of current program directors of ACGME-accredited anesthesiology and surgical residency programs at the same institutions using PubMed citations and funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as metrics of scholarly activity. METHODS: Between November 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011, we obtained data from publicly available Web sites on program directors at 127 institutions that had ACGME-accredited programs in both anesthesiology and surgery. Information gathered on each individual included year of board certification, year first appointed program director, academic rank, history of NIH grant funding, and number of PubMed citations. We also calculated the h-index for a randomly selected subset of 25 institution-matched program directors. RESULTS: There were no differences between the groups in number of years since board certification (P = 0.42), academic rank (P = 0.38), or years as a program director (P = 0.22). However, program directors in anesthesiology had less prior or current NIH funding (P = 0.002), fewer total and education-related PubMed citations (both P < 0.001), and a lower h-index (P = 0.001) than surgery program directors. Multivariate analysis revealed that the publication rate for anesthesiology program directors was 43% (95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.58) that of the corresponding program directors of surgical residency programs, holding other variables constant. CONCLUSIONS: Program directors of anesthesiology residency programs have considerably less scholarly activity in terms of peer-reviewed publications and federal research funding than directors of surgical residency programs. As such, this study provides further evidence for a systemic weakness in the scholarly fabric of academic anesthesiology.

Pulmonary thrombectomy in a patient with hemoglobin Nottingham.

A 36-year-old female with hemoglobin Nottingham (betaFG 5(98) Val --> Gly) causing severe hemolytic anemia and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension presented with symptomatic subacute right lower lobar pulmonary arterial thrombosis requiring surgical pulmonary thrombectomy. We describe a successful, multidisciplinary approach to the problems associated with this disease, particularly with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Role of transesophageal echocardiography in patients with suspected aortic dissection.

Patients with acute aortic dissection of the ascending aorta benefit from rapid surgical intervention. We report a patient with suspected acute aortic dissection based on history and transthoracic echocardiography findings. This patient was taken to the operating room without further workup, where transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed acute myocardial infarction and mitral regurgitation due to papillary muscle rupture. The patient underwent coronary bypass grafting and mitral valve replacement. This case demonstrates that intraoperative TEE can be used as a primary diagnostic modality to rule out aortic dissection, and can provide a definitive etiology for cardiogenic shock before a planned surgical intervention.