Randomized controlled trial of multidisciplinary team stress and performance in immersive simulation for management of infant in shock: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Human error and system failures continue to play a substantial role in adverse outcomes in healthcare. Simulation improves management of patients in critical condition, especially if it is undertaken by a multidisciplinary team. It covers technical skills (technical and therapeutic procedures) and non-technical skills, known as Crisis Resource Management. The relationship between stress and performance is theoretically described by the Yerkes-Dodson law as an inverted U-shaped curve. Performance is very low for a low level of stress and increases with an increased level of stress, up to a point, after which performance decreases and becomes severely impaired. The objectives of this randomized trial are to study the effect of stress on performance and the effect of repeated simulation sessions on performance and stress. METHODS: This study is a single-center, investigator-initiated randomized controlled trial including 48 participants distributed in 12 multidisciplinary teams. Each team is made up of 4 persons: an emergency physician, a resident, a nurse, and an ambulance driver who usually constitute a French Emergency Medical Service team. Six multidisciplinary teams are planning to undergo 9 simulation sessions over 1 year (experimental group), and 6 multidisciplinary teams are planning to undergo 3 simulation sessions over 1 year (control group). Evidence of the existence of stress will be assessed according to 3 criteria: biological, electrophysiological, and psychological stress. The impact of stress on overall team performance, technical procedure and teamwork will be evaluated. Participant self-assessment of the perceived impact of simulations on clinical practice will be collected. Detection of post-traumatic stress disorder will be performed by self-assessment questionnaire on the 7(th) day and after 1 month. DISCUSSION: We will concomitantly evaluate technical and non-technical performance, and the impact of stress on both. This is the first randomized trial studying repetition of simulation sessions and its impact on both clinical performance and stress, which is explored by objective and subjective assessments. We expect that stress decreases team performance and that repeated simulation will increase it. We expect no variation of stress parameters regardless of the level of performance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT02424890.

Impact of simulation-based training in surgical chest tube insertion on a model of traumatic pneumothorax.

BACKGROUND: Chest tube insertion is required for most cases of traumatic pneumothorax. However, this procedure entails risks of potentially life-threatening complications. A "surgical" approach is widely recommended to minimize these risks. Simulation-based education has previously been used in surgical chest tube insertion, but not been subjected to rigorous evaluation. METHODS: The primary objective was to evaluate the success rate of surgical chest tube insertion in a task trainer (previously published). Secondary objectives were to assess performance with a performance assessment scale (previously designed), to measure the time of insertion, and to seek out a correlation between the learner's status, experience, and performance and success rate. Participants were surveyed for realism of the model and satisfaction; 65 participants (18 residents, 47 senior physicians) were randomized into SIM+ or SIM- groups. Both groups received didactic lessons. The SIM+ group was assigned deliberate practice on the model under supervision. Both groups were assessed on the model 1 month later. RESULTS: There was no difference between the SIM+ (n = 34) and SIM- (n = 31) groups regarding status (p = 0.44) or previous surgical insertion (p = 0.12). Success rate was 97 % (SIM+) and 58 % (SIM-), p = 0.0002. Performance score was 16.29 ± 1.82 (SIM+) and 11.39 ± 3.67 (SIM-), p = 3.13 × 10-8. SIM+ presented shorter dissection time than SIM- (p = 0.047), but procedure time was similar (p = 0.71). Status or experience was not correlated with success rate, performance score, procedure time, or dissection time. SIM+ gained more self-confidence, judged the model more realistic, and were more satisfied than SIM-. CONCLUSIONS: Simulation-based education significantly improved the success rate and performance of surgical chest tube insertion on a traumatic pneumothorax model.

Parental presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation of children: the experience, opinions and moral positions of emergency teams in France.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the experience, opinions and moral positions of French emergency physicians (EP) who had taken a paediatric university course on parental presence during child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to compare it with the responses of nurses on their teams. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 550 EPs who had taken the course during the previous 6 years; the EPs were also asked to give a copy of the questionnaire to nurses on their staff. Data were collected on experience of parental presence during child CPR, opinions on the practice, arguments for and against parental presence, and the moral positions of respondents regarding their perception of life and the sharing of medical/parental power in the decision-making process. RESULTS: 343 responses were analysed, 47% from EPs (29% response rate) and 53% from nurses. 52% of respondents had experienced parental presence during child CPR, but it had been the physician's wish on only 6% of these occasions. Only 17% of respondents favoured parental presence, with EPs (27%) being favourable more often than nurses (12%). The reasons against parental presence were psychological trauma for the parents, risk of interference with medical management, and care team stress. Respondents not in favour of parental presence expressed this view more for medical reasons than for parent-related reasons. The physicians not in favour of parental presence espoused a moral position predicated on medical power. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of EPs and nurses were reluctant to have parents present during child CPR. Their attitude involved medical paternalism.

Validation of a performance assessment scale for simulated intraosseous access.

We propose an intraosseous (IO) procedure scale for evaluating the insertion process during simulation. A 12-item scale for assessing the performance of IO insertion into the proximal tibia reproduces all the steps of a manual procedure. The performance of 31 emergency physicians was evaluated with this scale on a mannequin simulating a decompensated shock in a 6-month-old infant.Our IO procedure scale was reliable, with a very high interobserver reproducibility. The application of this scale to procedures yielded higher scores for successful than for unsuccessful procedures (P < 10), a 93.5% success rate, and a mean placement time of 2 minutes 23 seconds. Although designed for a manual insertion of an IO needle during simulation, this scale may be also suitable for use in clinical settings.