Effect of mental rotation skills training on ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia task performance by novice operators: a rater-blinded, randomised, controlled study

Hewson, David W.; Knudsen, Rasmus; Shanmuganathan, Sanjeevan; Ferguson, Eamonn; Hardman, Jonathan G.; Bedforth, Nigel M.; McCahon, Rob A.

Abstract

Background: The effect of mental rotation training on ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia (UGRA) skill acquisition is currently unknown. In this study we aimed to examine whether mental rotation skill training can improve UGRA task performance by novice operators. Methods: Volunteers with no prior experience of UGRA were enrolled in this randomised, controlled study. All volunteers underwent a baseline mental rotation test and their performance of a standardised UGRA task was independently assessed by two raters using composite error score (CES) and global rating scale (GRS). Volunteers with low baseline mental rotation ability were randomised to a mental rotation training group or a no training group. The UGRA assessment was repeated to determine the impact of the training intervention on task performance. Results: Participants exposed to the training intervention made significantly fewer errors on CES and performed significantly better on GRS compared to those who did not receive the training intervention, even after controlling for their pre-training CES and GRS. This training effect was preserved for CES, but not GRS, when controlled for age, sex and mental rotation test scores. Conclusion: A simple training intervention, based on the manipulation and rotation of 3- dimensional models, results in improved technical performance of an UGRA task in novice operators with low baseline mental rotation skills.

Citation

Hewson, D. W., Knudsen, R., Shanmuganathan, S., Ferguson, E., Hardman, J. G., Bedforth, N. M., & McCahon, R. A. (2020). Effect of mental rotation skills training on ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia task performance by novice operators: a rater-blinded, randomised, controlled study. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 125(2), 168-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2020.04.090

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 22, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 16, 2020
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 16, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2021
• Journal: British Journal of Anaesthesia
• Print ISSN: 0007-0912
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 125
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 168-174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2020.04.090
• Keywords: Nerve block, Healthy volunteers, Ultrasonography, Task performance and analysis
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4659911
• Publisher URL: https://icm-experimental.springeropen.com/