Escaping the Silos: Utilization of a Pediatric Trauma Escape Room to Promote Interprofessional Education and Collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Millions of children are treated annually for trauma-related injuries but comprise a smaller proportion of emergency department visits than adults. As a result, emergency department teams may not have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to care for pediatric patients, and specialty teams may not interact enough as an interprofessional team to provide high-quality patient care. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project is to describe a novel interprofessional simulation-based education initiative to assist pediatric trauma team readiness. METHODS: An escape room was designed to provide an interactive educational environment focused on pediatric trauma education. Using an interprofessional dyad of a trauma nursing specialist and a pediatric nursing expert, the escape room was designed as a series of clues to improve pediatric skills and interprofessional collaboration between specialty teams. The escape room training was conducted (from February to March, 2023) in a large Southeastern U.S. Level II adult trauma center. RESULTS: Twenty-one registered nurses from different specialty teams participated in the simulation exercises with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Colleagues reported this was a unique way to deliver education that resulted in innovative team building and enriched collegiality between the specialty teams. CONCLUSIONS: The escape room educational format was positively received, and future events are planned across disciplines and various topics. Trauma centers with lower pediatric volumes seeking to provide engaging team-based education may use this format as a unique and innovative way to develop teams for clinical success.

Stripping torque as a predictor of successful internal fracture fixation.

BACKGROUND: Internal fixation of fractures using plates and screws is a common method of treatment. Occasionally the internal fixation fails prior to fracture healing. This often requires revision surgery. Determining the force that internal fixation needs to withstand postoperatively would enable this force to be applied intraoperatively as a test to predict successful fixation. The purpose of the present paper was to determine the minimum stripping torque needed to predict successful internal fixation strength. METHODS: The pull-out strength and stripping torque relationships of 4.5-mm cortical bone screws in Sawbones polyurethane foam were determined. Screw forces were directly measured using an LCM load cell washer on a model intertrochanteric neck of femur fracture fixed with 135 degrees 4-hole pin and plate loaded to single leg stance conditions. Additionally a 135 degrees 4-hole pin and plate was mounted on foam blocks and loaded until failure of the shaft screws from the foam occurred. Predicted stripping torque/yield load was determined. RESULTS: Pull-out strength and stripping torque of 4.5-mm cortical bone screws in polyurethane foam have a high degree of linear correlation R(2) = 0.95. Direct measurement of shaft screw forces at single leg stance conditions were 585-686 N. This correlated with a stripping torque of 0.9 Nm. Load to yield testing at single leg stance conditions corresponded to a stripping torque of 1.8 Nm. CONCLUSION: Withstanding 0.9-1.8 Nm of torque during insertion of the femoral shaft screws of a 135 degrees 4-hole pin and plate predicts that the construct will successfully withstand single leg stance.