The effect of cross-training with adjustable airway model anatomies on laryngoscopy skill transfer

A problem with learning endotracheal intubation on airway mannequins is poor transfer of direct laryngoscopy skills from model to patient. We developed an airway model with adjustable anatomic features and investigated whether practicing on a model with frequent adjustments improved laryngoscopy skills transfer.

Fifty-one paramedic students and 18 medical students with minimal previous experience practiced laryngoscopy 25 times with either the novel model with static features, the novel model with variable features, or a Laerdal Adult Intubation mannequin. For the variable group, the configuration changed after every 5 attempts. After training, all subjects performed 10 laryngoscopies on 2 new mannequins to test their competence at skills transfer. A mixed linear model analyzed various predictors of success as a binary outcome, including training group and change in laryngoscopy model.

The odds ratio for success after a recent change in mannequin was 0.69 (0.49, 0.96 [95% confidence interval]). Compared with the Laerdal group, subjects with the static trainer did worse (odds ratio 0.46 [0.23, 0.94]), and subjects in the variable group were no different (0.74 [0.36, 1.52]). Change in laryngoscopy model decreased success rate by approximately 30% for all training groups.

The results verify that proficiency on one model does not guarantee success on another. However, subjects who trained with a laryngoscopy mannequin in multiple configurations did not show better skill transfer than subjects practicing on fixed configuration airway models.