Effect of simulation training on compliance with difficult airway management algorithms, technical ability, and...

The effectiveness of simulation is rarely evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a short training course on the ability of anesthesiology residents to comply with current difficult airway management guidelines.

Twenty-seven third-year anesthesiology residents were assessed on a simulator in a "can't intubate, can't ventilate" scenario before the training (the pretest) and then randomly 3, 6, or 12 months after training (the posttest). The scenario was built so that the resident was prompted to perform a cricothyrotomy. Compliance with airway management guidelines and the cricothyrotomy's duration and technical quality were assessed as a checklist score [0 to 10] and a global rating scale [7 to 35].

After training, all 27 residents (100%) complied with the airway management guidelines, compared with 17 (63%) in the pretest (P < 0.005). In the pretest and the 3-, 6-, and 12-month posttests, the median [range] duration of cricothyrotomy was respectively 117 s [70 to 184], 69 s [43 to 97], 52 s [43 to 76], and 62 s [43 to 74] (P < 0.0001 vs. in the pretest), the median [range] checklist score was 3 [0 to 7], 10 [8 to 10], 9 [6 to 10], and 9 [4 to 10] (P < 0.0001 vs. in the pretest) and the median [range] global rating scale was 12 [7 to 22], 30 [20 to 35], 33 [23 to 35], and 31 [18 to 33] (P < 0.0001 vs. in the pretest). There were no significant differences between performance levels achieved in the 3-, 6-, and 12-month posttests.

The training session significantly improved the residents' compliance with guidelines and their performance of cricothyrotomy.