Effectiveness of positive pressure ventilation during newborn care unit evacuation.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Assess the utility of high fidelity simulation in understanding effectiveness of bag-valve ventilation in a simulated newborn intensive care unit vertical evacuation. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 70 participants, (13 teams of 4-6 staff) including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other support personnel participated in a 90-min evacuation sessions. METHODS: Two wireless high-fidelity newborn mannequins (Gaumand ScientificR) provided real-time data of ventilation support during a NICU evacuation exercise. Trained evaluators also recorded data related to performance. Following the exercises, the simulator data were downloaded and analyzed for rate and consistency of respirations. RESULTS: Using the data from the simulators and evaluator comments, it was found the infants received proper airway management during the evacuation only 58% of the time. This study highlights the need for ongoing training for NICU staff around safe, effective, coordinated, and timely care of these fragile newborns in the event of an evacuation.