Simulation-based training in ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia for emergency physicians: insights from an Italian pre/post intervention study

Abstract Background Despite the importance of Ultrasound-guided Regional Anaesthesia (UGRA) in Emergency Medicine (EM), there is significant variability in UGRA training among emergency physicians. We recently developed a one-day (8 h), simulation-based UGRA course, specifically tailored to help emergency physicians to integrate these skills into their clinical practice. Methods In this pre/post intervention study, emergency physicians attended a course consisting of a 4-hour teaching on background knowledge and a practical part structured as follows: a scanning session on a healthy individual; a needling station with an ex-vivo model (turkey thighs); a simulation-based learning experience on local anaesthetic toxicity (LAST); a session on the UGRA simulator BlockSim™. Participants rated their level of knowledge across several domains of UGRA practice; for this purpose, we used a 5-points Likert scale (from 0 to 4). Participants also rated the perceived utility of the practical sessions. We extrapolated baseline characteristics of participants, and we paired the answers of pre- and post-course questionnaires using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Seventy-four emergency physicians across ten Italian regions and Switzerland completed the pre-and post- course questionnaire. Most of them were EM residents (75.68%) who had never performed UGRA. Median self-reported knowledge significantly improved from 1 to 3 in the following domains of UGRA indications: Knowledge of contraindications and UGRA techniques [pre-course 1 (IQR 1–2), post-course 3 (IQR 2–3)]; Equipment and drugs [pre-course 1(IQR 1–1), post-course 3 (IQR2-3)]; LAST recognition [pre-course 1 (IQR 1–2), post-course 3 (IQR 2–4)]; LAST management [pre-course 1 (IQR 1–1,75), post-course 3 (IQR 2–3)] (p