Simulation in healthcare during COVID-19: An experience with residents in Anaesthesiology.

BACKGROUND: The restrictions to stop COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative impact in simulation, however, it is imperative to develop new strategies that facilitate healthcare education. OBJECTIVE: To describe a simulation in healthcare based on the learning of Non-Technical Skills (NTS) and performed under the restrictions of COVID-19 Pandemic. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study of an educational activity performed through simulation with anaesthesiology residents in November 2020. Twelve residents participated in two consecutive days. A questionnaire was filled related to the performance of NTS that encompasses leadership, teamwork and decision making. The complexity of the scenarios and the NTS results obtained between the two days were analysed. Advantages and challenges were documented when a clinical simulation is performed under COVID-19 restrictions. RESULTS: The global performance of the teams improved when comparing first and second day (79.5% vs 88.6%, p<0.01). Leadership was the worst section rated, however, was the one that showed the best improvement (70% vs 87.5%, p<0.01). The complexity of the simulation cases had no relation with the group performance in leadership and teamwork but affected task management results. General satisfaction was over 75%. The main challenges to develop the activity were the technology required to adapt virtuality to simulation and the time spent for the preparation of it. No cases of COVID-19 were reported within the first month after the activity. CONCLUSION: Clinical simulation can be done in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic, obtaining satisfactory learning results but requiring the adaptation of institutions to the new challenges it implies.

Clinical impact on treatment and prognosis of advanced cardiac imaging with echocardiography in the acute setting of a COVID-19 infection

Background and objectives: Despite myocardial injury being related to excess mortality in acute COVID-19 infection, its impact on imaging findings remains unclear. This study aimed to characterize transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) findings in patients admitted with COVID-19 infections and its impact on management and prognosis. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was performed among 66 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to a tertiary center between March 1 and May 25, 2020 and underwent TTE. High-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI) data, echocardiographic assessment of right and left ventricular (LV) functional parameters, strain, and myocardial work analysis were obtained. Results: 2025 patients were admitted with COVID-19 and in 200 a complete TTE study was performed. Due to poor image quality, only 66 studies were included in the final analysis. The median age was 62 years (IQR, 55-70) and 59.1% of patients were males. The most common comorbidity was hypertension (47%), followed by smoking history (30.3%), atrial fibrillation (9.1%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7.9%). More than half of the patients (39, 59%) were admitted to the ICU, and half of them (33, 50%) required invasive mechanical ventilation. TTE was mainly indicated because of concerns for systemic conditions (50%) and evaluation of hemodynamic assessment (30%). Thirty-six patients (54.5%) had an abnormal TTE result and 57% had elevated hs-cTnI levels. The most common cardiac abnormality was LV diastolic dysfunction in 33% of the patients, followed by right ventricular dysfunction (12%) and LV dysfunction (6%) (Figure 1). LV GLS was reduced in 48.5% of the cases. Myocardial work performance indices were all reduced in patients with an abnormal TTE (GWI 30%, GCW 30%, GWW 40%, and GWE 40%), although differences were not significant (P>0.2 for all parameters). Patients with an abnormal TTE were older and presented a higher cardiovascular risk profile. There were no significant differences in the levels of D-dimer, NTproBNP, and hs-cTnI between patients with and without diastolic dysfunction, RV, or LV dysfunction (P>0.3 for all parameters). Using Spearman rank correlation, there was an inverse relationship between hs-cTnI and LV strain and myocardial work analysis. TTE results impacted clinical management in 60 patients, mainly de-escalation of medical treatment (Figure 2). Abnormal TTE results did not impact in-hospital outcomes. Conclusions: Severe echocardiographic abnormalities are uncommon in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infections, presenting mostly with subclinical myocardial changes, such as diastolic dysfunction, reduced LV GLS, and myocardial work indices, both associated with high-sensitivity troponin I elevation. An echocardiographic study should be limited to rule out long-term ICU complications or to evaluate hemodynamic instability. Although TTE was a valuable tool for guiding management, it had no significant impact on prognosis. (Figure Presented).