A study on goat models for training combat medics' key first aid skills on battle field / 中国中西医结合急救杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To train the combat medics to learn key battle field operative technologies such as tracheotomy, thoracic close drainage, control of massive hemorrhage, etc by practicing the above skills on goats' traumatic models. Methods From 2012 to 2014 for consecutive 3 years, a group army trained the combat medics to learn how to treat war trauma first aid skills every year. 30 combat medics were randomly selected from 136 combat medics who had received goat model training to be tested. Goat model preparation methods: 35 healthy adult goats were anaesthetized with ketamine, then the suffocation models were reproduced by wadding the goat mouths and noses;pneumothorax models were replicated by cutting goat chest cavities; massive hemorrhagic models were produced by cutting goat femoral arteries by scissors. 136 combat medics were trained to perform tracheotomy, tube thoracostomy or thoracic close drainage, and hemorrhagic control by above models. The differences in mastering these skills before training, immediately after training, and one year after training were recorded and compared, and the factors influencing the combat medics training grade were analyzed. Results At the end of the training, the 30 combat medics' successful rates of performing cricothyrotomy or tracheotomy, tube thoracostomy, hemorrhage control were significantly higher than those before the training [respectively was 63.3% (19/30) vs. 10.0% (3/30), 66.7% (20/30) vs. 13.3% (4/30), 86.7% (26/30) vs. 53.3% (16/30), all P < 0.05]. After 1 year of training, the success rates of tracheotomy and thoracic close drainage were 33.3% (9/27) and 37.0% (10/27) respectively, which were significantly lower than those immediately after the end of training; the success rate of hemostasis after femoral artery rupture was 70.4% (19/27), which was lower than that at the end of training, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The education level had effect on the combat medics' performance after training. The success rate of combat medics with higher or above higher education was significantly higher than that of them with high school and below [88.9% (24/27) vs. 65.1% (41/63), P < 0.05]. Cross-sectional survey result showed that in 107 combat medics simultaneously received multimedia teaching, high analogue simulation human model teaching and animal model teaching, 85 combat medics (79.4%) chose the goat models as the first option for training. Conclusion By performing battle field key first aid techniques on goat trauma models, the combat medics' skills can be obviously elevated, they approve this animal model training as the first option, but repetition of the training is necessary to maintain the skills long lasting.