Abstract
BackgroundLumbar puncture (LP) is an invasive medical procedure that can be done by any doctor. Several simulation-based trainings have been built however the evaluations of the theoretical knowledge and the impact of the simulation-based training have never been performed in real life.The objective was to evaluate the impact of a LP training on the theoretical knowledge improvement and the performance of a LP in clinical practice.MethodsBefore and after medical students’ training, theoretical knowledge and confidence level were assessed. Over a 6 months period, the impact of simulation training was evaluated by the success rate of students’ first LP carried out in hospitalized patients and compared to the results of a no-training control.ResultsStudents’ theoretical knowledge and confidence level showed significant improvement after simulation training on 115 students (p < 0.0001). The evaluation in real life based on 41 students showed that the success rate of the first LP in patients was higher in the LP simulation group compared to the control group (67% vs 14%, p = 0.0025). The technical assistance was also less frequently needed in the LP simulation group (19% vs 57%, respectively, p = 0.017). The rate of students who participated in this educational study was low.DiscussionSimulation-based teaching was an effective way to improve students’ theoretical and practical knowledge. Whether this approach translates to other procedural skills in real clinical settings merits further study. The low participation rate in the study is due to the fact that students are not used to be included in educational studies and to the complexity of evaluation in routine clinical practice.
Highlights
Lumbar puncture (LP) is an invasive medical procedure that can be done by any doctor
In a first group of medical students, between January 2015 and September 2017, we evaluated the impact of theoretical teaching and LP simulation training on the LP knowledge and confidence in the performance of LP in real practice
Post-test self-assessments were significantly improved compared to pre-tests, for theoretical knowledge, and for confidence level in performing LP (Fig. 1a and b)
Summary
Lumbar puncture (LP) is an invasive medical procedure that can be done by any doctor. Lumbar puncture (LP) is a common invasive medical procedure performed by many physicians from various specialties It can cause side effects which could be avoided by a good knowledge and proper practice of the procedure [1,2,3,4]. Few studies have demonstrated that the use of simulation-based LP training is more effective than the “traditional” clinical training where students learn LP directly in clinical practice with a patient [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. We have noted a lack of theoretical teaching and official recommendations for LP practice
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