User Perceptions of Visual Clot in a High-Fidelity Simulation Study: Mixed Qualitative-Quantitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Viscoelastic hemostatic assays, such as rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) or thromboelastography, enable prompt diagnosis and accelerate targeted treatment. However, the complex interpretation of the results remains challenging. Visual Clot-a situation awareness-based visualization technology-was developed to assist clinicians in interpreting viscoelastic tests. OBJECTIVE: Following a previous high-fidelity simulation study, we analyzed users' perceptions of the technology, to identify its strengths and limitations from clinicians' perspectives. METHODS: This is a mixed qualitative-quantitative study consisting of interviews and a survey. After solving coagulation scenarios using Visual Clot in high-fidelity simulations, we interviewed anesthesia personnel about the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the new tool. We used a template approach to identify dominant themes in interview responses. From these themes, we defined 5 statements, which were then rated on Likert scales in a questionnaire. RESULTS: We interviewed 77 participants and 23 completed the survey. We identified 9 frequently mentioned topics by analyzing the interview responses. The most common themes were "positive design features," "intuitive and easy to learn," and "lack of a quantitative component." In the survey, 21 respondents agreed that Visual Clot is easy to learn and 16 respondents stated that a combination of Visual Clot and ROTEM would help them manage complex hemostatic situations. CONCLUSIONS: A group of anesthesia care providers found Visual Clot well-designed, intuitive, and easy to learn. Participants highlighted its usefulness in emergencies, especially for clinicians inexperienced in coagulation management. However, the lack of quantitative information is an area for improvement.

Coagulation Management of Critically Bleeding Patients With Viscoelastic Testing Presented as a 3D-Animated Blood Clot (The Visual Clot): Randomized Controlled High-Fidelity Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend using viscoelastic coagulation tests to guide coagulation management, but interpreting the results remains challenging. Visual Clot, a 3D animated blood clot, facilitates interpretation through a user-centered and situation awareness-oriented design. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the effects of Visual Clot versus conventional viscoelastic test results (rotational thrombelastometry [ROTEM] temograms) on the coagulation management performance of anesthesia teams in critical bleeding situations. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, high-fidelity simulation study in which anesthesia teams (consisting of a senior anesthesiologist, a resident anesthesiologist, and an anesthesia nurse) managed perioperative bleeding scenarios. Teams had either Visual Clot or ROTEM temograms available to perform targeted coagulation management. We analyzed the 15-minute simulations with post hoc video analysis. The primary outcome was correct targeted coagulation therapy. Secondary outcomes were time to targeted coagulation therapy, confidence, and workload. In addition, we have conducted a qualitative survey on user acceptance of Visual Clot. We used Poisson regression, Cox regression, and mixed logistic regression models, adjusted for various potential confounders, to analyze the data. RESULTS: We analyzed 59 simulations. Teams using Visual Clot were more likely to deliver the overall targeted coagulation therapy correctly (rate ratio 1.56, 95% CI 1.00-2.47; P=.05) and administer the first targeted coagulation product faster (hazard ratio 2.58, 95% CI 1.37-4.85; P=.003). In addition, participants showed higher decision confidence with Visual Clot (odds ratio 3.60, 95% CI 1.49-8.71; P=.005). We found no difference in workload (coefficient -0.03, 95% CI -3.08 to 2.88; P=.99). CONCLUSIONS: Using Visual Clot led to a more accurate and faster-targeted coagulation therapy than using ROTEM temograms. We suggest that relevant viscoelastic test manufacturers consider augmenting their complex result presentation with intuitive, easy-to-understand visualization to ease users' burden from unnecessary cognitive load and enhance patient care.

Using Visual Patient to Show Vital Sign Predictions, a Computer-Based Mixed Quantitative and Qualitative Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: Machine learning can analyze vast amounts of data and make predictions for events in the future. Our group created machine learning models for vital sign predictions. To transport the information of these predictions without numbers and numerical values and make them easily usable for human caregivers, we aimed to integrate them into the Philips Visual-Patient-avatar, an avatar-based visualization of patient monitoring. METHODS: We conducted a computer-based simulation study with 70 participants in 3 European university hospitals. We validated the vital sign prediction visualizations by testing their identification by anesthesiologists and intensivists. Each prediction visualization consisted of a condition (e.g., low blood pressure) and an urgency (a visual indication of the timespan in which the condition is expected to occur). To obtain qualitative user feedback, we also conducted standardized interviews and derived statements that participants later rated in an online survey. RESULTS: The mixed logistic regression model showed 77.9% (95% CI 73.2-82.0%) correct identification of prediction visualizations (i.e., condition and urgency both correctly identified) and 93.8% (95% CI 93.7-93.8%) for conditions only (i.e., without considering urgencies). A total of 49 out of 70 participants completed the online survey. The online survey participants agreed that the prediction visualizations were fun to use (32/49, 65.3%), and that they could imagine working with them in the future (30/49, 61.2%). They also agreed that identifying the urgencies was difficult (32/49, 65.3%). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that care providers correctly identified >90% of the conditions (i.e., without considering urgencies). The accuracy of identification decreased when considering urgencies in addition to conditions. Therefore, in future development of the technology, we will focus on either only displaying conditions (without urgencies) or improving the visualizations of urgency to enhance usability for human users.

Attitudes of Anesthesiologists toward Artificial Intelligence in Anesthesia: A Multicenter, Mixed Qualitative-Quantitative Study.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to play an increasingly important role in perioperative medicine in the very near future. However, little is known about what anesthesiologists know and think about AI in this context. This is important because the successful introduction of new technologies depends on the understanding and cooperation of end users. We sought to investigate how much anesthesiologists know about AI and what they think about the introduction of AI-based technologies into the clinical setting. In order to better understand what anesthesiologists think of AI, we recruited 21 anesthesiologists from 2 university hospitals for face-to-face structured interviews. The interview transcripts were subdivided sentence-by-sentence into discrete statements, and statements were then grouped into key themes. Subsequently, a survey of closed questions based on these themes was sent to 70 anesthesiologists from 3 university hospitals for rating. In the interviews, the base level of knowledge of AI was good at 86 of 90 statements (96%), although awareness of the potential applications of AI in anesthesia was poor at only 7 of 42 statements (17%). Regarding the implementation of AI in anesthesia, statements were split roughly evenly between pros (46 of 105, 44%) and cons (59 of 105, 56%). Interviewees considered that AI could usefully be used in diverse tasks such as risk stratification, the prediction of vital sign changes, or as a treatment guide. The validity of these themes was probed in a follow-up survey of 70 anesthesiologists with a response rate of 70%, which confirmed an overall positive view of AI in this group. Anesthesiologists hold a range of opinions, both positive and negative, regarding the application of AI in their field of work. Survey-based studies do not always uncover the full breadth of nuance of opinion amongst clinicians. Engagement with specific concerns, both technical and ethical, will prove important as this technology moves from research to the clinic.

Visual Blood, a 3D Animated Computer Model to Optimize the Interpretation of Blood Gas Analysis.

Acid-base homeostasis is crucial for all physiological processes in the body and is evaluated using arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis. Screens or printouts of ABG results require the interpretation of many textual elements and numbers, which may delay intuitive comprehension. To optimise the presentation of the results for the specific strengths of human perception, we developed Visual Blood, an animated virtual model of ABG results. In this study, we compared its performance with a conventional result printout. Seventy physicians from three European university hospitals participated in a computer-based simulation study. Initially, after an educational video, we tested the participants' ability to assign individual Visual Blood visualisations to their corresponding ABG parameters. As the primary outcome, we tested caregivers' ability to correctly diagnose simulated clinical ABG scenarios with Visual Blood or conventional ABG printouts. For user feedback, participants rated their agreement with statements at the end of the study. Physicians correctly assigned 90% of the individual Visual Blood visualisations. Regarding the primary outcome, the participants made the correct diagnosis 86% of the time when using Visual Blood, compared to 68% when using the conventional ABG printout. A mixed logistic regression model showed an odds ratio for correct diagnosis of 3.4 (95%CI 2.00-5.79, p < 0.001) and an odds ratio for perceived diagnostic confidence of 1.88 (95%CI 1.67-2.11, p < 0.001) in favour of Visual Blood. A linear mixed model showed a coefficient for perceived workload of -3.2 (95%CI -3.77 to -2.64) in favour of Visual Blood. Fifty-one of seventy (73%) participants agreed or strongly agreed that Visual Blood was easy to use, and fifty-five of seventy (79%) agreed that it was fun to use. In conclusion, Visual Blood improved physicians' ability to diagnose ABG results. It also increased perceived diagnostic confidence and reduced perceived workload. This study adds to the growing body of research showing that decision-support tools developed around human cognitive abilities can streamline caregivers' decision-making and may improve patient care.

User Perceptions of ROTEM-Guided Haemostatic Resuscitation: A Mixed Qualitative-Quantitative Study.

Viscoelastic point-of-care haemostatic resuscitation methods, such as ROTEM or TEG, are crucial in deciding on time-efficient personalised coagulation interventions. International transfusion guidelines emphasise increased patient safety and reduced treatment costs. We analysed care providers' perceptions of ROTEM to identify perceived strengths and areas for improvement. We conducted a single-centre, mixed qualitative-quantitative study consisting of interviews followed by an online survey. Using a template approach, we first identified themes in the responses given by care providers about ROTEM. Later, the participants rated six statements based on the identified themes on five-point Likert scales in an online questionnaire. Seventy-seven participants were interviewed, and 52 completed the online survey. By analysing user perceptions, we identified ten themes. The most common positive theme was "high accuracy". The most common negative theme was "need for training". In the online survey, 94% of participants agreed that monitoring the real-time ROTEM temograms helps to initiate targeted treatment more quickly and 81% agreed that recurrent ROTEM training would be beneficial. Anaesthesia care providers found ROTEM to be accurate and quickly available to support decision-making in dynamic and complex haemostatic situations. However, clinicians identified that interpreting ROTEM is a complex and cognitively demanding task that requires significant training needs.

Acute limb ischemia after femoro-femoral extracorporeal life support implantation: A comparison of surgical, percutaneous, or combined vascular access in 402 patients.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a salvage treatment for acute circulatory failure. Our high-volume tertiary centre performs more than 100 implants annually and provides ECLS-transports. With this study, we aimed to analyze the incidence and risk factors of limb ischemia depending on the vascular access. METHODS: Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2018, 937 patients received an ECLS. Preoperative, intraoperative, in-hospital and up to 5 years follow-up data were collected. Outcome measures were limb ischemia and survival. RESULTS: In total, 402 femoro-femoral veno-arterial ECLS patients were identified. Mean age was 56 ± 16.7 years, 26.9% were female, 7.9% had a history of peripheral vascular disease. Cannulation was performed percutaneously in 82.1% (n = 330), surgically in 5.7% (n = 23) and combined in 12.2% (n = 49). Mortality was not significantly different between the groups (51.1% percutaneous, 43.5% surgical, 44.9% combined [p = 0.89]). There was no significant difference in limb ischemia either, but a trend toward an increased frequency in the percutaneous group (p = 0.0501). No amputation was necessary. Limb ischemia slightly increased in-hospital mortality (54.6%) but did not affect long-term survival beyond 30 days. Univariate analysis adjusted for cannulation methods revealed younger age and female gender as risk factors of limb ischemia and younger age for limb ischemia after percutaneous cannulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that percutaneous, surgical, and combined vascular access techniques for ECLS implantation are associated with comparable and low incidence of limb ischemia which slightly increases in-hospital mortality. Special precaution has to be taken in young and female patients.