Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners
Abstract Background Lung ultrasound has been increasingly used in the last years for the assessment of patients with respiratory diseases; it is considered a simple technique, now spreading from physicians to other healthcare professionals as nurses and physiotherapists, as well as to medical studen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05148-0 |
| _version_ | 1797274235914158080 |
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| author | Silvia Mongodi Raffaella Arioli Attilio Quaini Giuseppina Grugnetti Anna Maria Grugnetti Francesco Mojoli |
| author_facet | Silvia Mongodi Raffaella Arioli Attilio Quaini Giuseppina Grugnetti Anna Maria Grugnetti Francesco Mojoli |
| author_sort | Silvia Mongodi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Lung ultrasound has been increasingly used in the last years for the assessment of patients with respiratory diseases; it is considered a simple technique, now spreading from physicians to other healthcare professionals as nurses and physiotherapists, as well as to medical students. These providers may require a different training to acquire lung ultrasound skills, since they are expected to have no previous experience with ultrasound. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a short theoretical training focused on lung ultrasound pattern recognition in a population of novice nurse learners with no previous experience with ultrasound. Methods We included the nurses attending a critical care advanced course for nurses performed at the University of Pavia. Images’ interpretation skills were tested on two slide sets (a 25-clip set focused on B-pattern recognition and a 25-clip set focused on identification of pleural movement as lung sliding, lung pulse, lung point, no movement) before and after three 30-minute teaching modules dedicated to general ultrasound principles, B-lines assessment and lung sliding assessment. A cut off of 80% was considered acceptable for correctly interpreted images after this basic course. Results 22 nurses were enrolled (age 26.0 [24.0–28.0] years; men 4 (18%)); one nurse had previous experience with other ultrasound techniques, none of them had previous experience with lung ultrasound. After the training, the number of correctly interpreted clips improved from 3.5 [0.0–13.0] to 22.0 [19.0–23.0] (p < 0.0001) for B-pattern and from 0.5 [0.0–2.0] to 8.5 [6.0–12.0] (p < 0.0001) for lung sliding assessment. The number of correct answers for B-pattern recognition was significantly higher than for lung sliding assessment, both before (3.5 [0.0–13.0] vs. 0.5 [0.0–2.0]; p = 0.0036) and after (22.0 [19.0–23.0] vs. 8.5 [6.0–12.0]; p < 0.0001) the training. After the training, nurses were able to correctly recognize the presence or the absence of a B-pattern in 84.2 ± 10.3% of cases; lung sliding was correctly assessed in 37.1 ± 15.3% of cases. Conclusions Lung ultrasound is considered a simple technique; while a short, focused training significantly improves B-pattern recognition, lung sliding assessment may require a longer training for novice learners. Trial registration Not applicable. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:55:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6926632edbd940efaf8e072c7b3984f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:55:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-6926632edbd940efaf8e072c7b3984f62024-03-05T19:27:19ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-02-012411710.1186/s12909-024-05148-0Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learnersSilvia Mongodi0Raffaella Arioli1Attilio Quaini2Giuseppina Grugnetti3Anna Maria Grugnetti4Francesco Mojoli5Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoAnesthesia and Intensive Care, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoDepartment of Health Professions, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoDepartment of Health Professions, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoDepartment of Health Professions, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoAnesthesia and Intensive Care, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. MatteoAbstract Background Lung ultrasound has been increasingly used in the last years for the assessment of patients with respiratory diseases; it is considered a simple technique, now spreading from physicians to other healthcare professionals as nurses and physiotherapists, as well as to medical students. These providers may require a different training to acquire lung ultrasound skills, since they are expected to have no previous experience with ultrasound. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a short theoretical training focused on lung ultrasound pattern recognition in a population of novice nurse learners with no previous experience with ultrasound. Methods We included the nurses attending a critical care advanced course for nurses performed at the University of Pavia. Images’ interpretation skills were tested on two slide sets (a 25-clip set focused on B-pattern recognition and a 25-clip set focused on identification of pleural movement as lung sliding, lung pulse, lung point, no movement) before and after three 30-minute teaching modules dedicated to general ultrasound principles, B-lines assessment and lung sliding assessment. A cut off of 80% was considered acceptable for correctly interpreted images after this basic course. Results 22 nurses were enrolled (age 26.0 [24.0–28.0] years; men 4 (18%)); one nurse had previous experience with other ultrasound techniques, none of them had previous experience with lung ultrasound. After the training, the number of correctly interpreted clips improved from 3.5 [0.0–13.0] to 22.0 [19.0–23.0] (p < 0.0001) for B-pattern and from 0.5 [0.0–2.0] to 8.5 [6.0–12.0] (p < 0.0001) for lung sliding assessment. The number of correct answers for B-pattern recognition was significantly higher than for lung sliding assessment, both before (3.5 [0.0–13.0] vs. 0.5 [0.0–2.0]; p = 0.0036) and after (22.0 [19.0–23.0] vs. 8.5 [6.0–12.0]; p < 0.0001) the training. After the training, nurses were able to correctly recognize the presence or the absence of a B-pattern in 84.2 ± 10.3% of cases; lung sliding was correctly assessed in 37.1 ± 15.3% of cases. Conclusions Lung ultrasound is considered a simple technique; while a short, focused training significantly improves B-pattern recognition, lung sliding assessment may require a longer training for novice learners. Trial registration Not applicable.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05148-0Lung ultrasoundNurse teachingNurse trainingPoint-of-care ultrasoundLUS |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Mongodi Raffaella Arioli Attilio Quaini Giuseppina Grugnetti Anna Maria Grugnetti Francesco Mojoli Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners BMC Medical Education Lung ultrasound Nurse teaching Nurse training Point-of-care ultrasound LUS |
| title | Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| title_full | Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| title_fullStr | Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| title_short | Lung ultrasound training: how short is too short? observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| title_sort | lung ultrasound training how short is too short observational study on the effects of a focused theoretical training for novice learners |
| topic | Lung ultrasound Nurse teaching Nurse training Point-of-care ultrasound LUS |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05148-0 |
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