Virtual Reality Simulation in Pediatric Resuscitation for Pre-hospital Providers.

This technical report explored the feasibility and utility of virtual reality (VR) pediatric resuscitation simulations for pre-hospital providers during their scheduled shifts. To our knowledge, neither the pediatric resuscitation VR simulation nor the feasibility of in situ, on-shift training with VR had been previously evaluated in pre-hospital providers. VR headset was available at an urban city fire station for 10 days where a total of 60 pre-hospital providers were scheduled to work. Providers were made aware of the VR module but no formal demonstration was done. There were no facilitators. Participants filled out an anonymous retrospective pre- and post-survey using a five-point Likert scale, rating their confidence from "not confident" to "very confident" in recognizing and managing pediatric emergencies. We found that VR simulation for pediatric resuscitation was a feasible training tool to use in situ as 63% of the providers were able to use it on shift. Furthermore, self-reported confidence increased after the training where responses of "very confident" increased from 20% to 30% for emergency medical technicians and 55% to 63% for paramedics.

Homemade ultrasound phantom for teaching identification of superficial soft tissue abscess.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is often used to distinguish abscess from cellulitis in superficial soft tissue infections. With the increased use of POCUS in emergency medicine, it is important that training to use POCUS is enhanced by practice using phantom models. OBJECTIVE: To create an easily made, inexpensive, homemade phantom capable of simulating an abscess in superficial soft tissue infection. METHODS: Increasing amounts of Jell-O (Northfield, Illinois, USA) brand gelatin and sugar-free Metamucil (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) brand psyllium hydrophilic mucilloid fibre were experimented with until a satisfactory model was achieved. Various liquids were injected into it to simulate superficial abscess formation. The desired goal was for the phantom to appear similar to superficial human soft tissue under ultrasound scan and to be firm enough to withstand pressure from an ultrasound probe scan. The goal for the simulated abscess was to appear as a hypoechoic space under ultrasound scan. A Sonosite M-Turbo (Bothell, Washington, USA) bedside ultrasound machine with linear array transducer probe was used for the ultrasound scans. RESULTS: The optimal homemade phantom incorporated 12 tablespoons of Jell-O and four tablespoons of Metamucil in one liter of water. CONCLUSION: An easily made, inexpensive phantom model for instruction on identification of superficial skin abscess was achieved.