• Andreas Bloch, Robert von Arx, Reto Etter, David Berger, Heiko Kaiser, Armando Lenz, and Tobias M Merz.
• From the *Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; †Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Spitalzentrum Biel, Biel, Switzerland; ‡Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Therapy, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; and §Clinical Trial Unit Bern, Department of Clinical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
• Anesth. Analg. 2017 Oct 1; 125 (4): 1140-1148.

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to determine if training in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using a TEE simulator improves the ability of novice operators to perform and interpret a focused critical care TEE.MethodsIn this prospective, randomized, controlled study with blinded outcome assessment, 44 intensive care unit trainees were randomly assigned to a control group receiving 4 hours of lecture-based training only, or an intervention group which was additionally trained for 4 hours using a TEE simulator. After the training intervention, each participant performed 2 TEEs in intensive care unit patients which were evaluated by blinded assessors. The imaging quality of TEEs was measured using a predefined examination quality score ranging from 0 to 100 points. The correct quantification of pathologies and the interpretation of the TEEs were evaluated by blinded assessors using focused and comprehensive expert TEEs as comparators.ResultsA total of 114 TEEs were assessed. The mean examination quality score was 55.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 50.3-61.5) for TEEs of the control group, 75.6 (95% CI, 70.1-81.0) for TEEs of the intervention group, and 88.5 (95% CI, 79.3-97.7) for TEEs in the expert group. The multiple comparisons revealed significant differences between all groups (19.7 [95% CI, 12.8-26.6], P < .001 for intervention versus control; 32.6 [95% CI, 23.0-42.3], P < .001 for expert versus control; 12.9 [95% CI, 3.4-22.5], P = .008 for expert versus intervention). Substantial agreement of the quantification and interpretation ratings of basic TEEs by the intervention (86.7% for quantification and 97.1% for interpretation) or expert group (93.2% for quantification and 98.4% for interpretation) with blinded assessors was detected. The control groups TEEs agreed less (75.6% for quantification and 91.8% for interpretation).ConclusionsSimulation-based TEE training improves the ability of novice operators to perform a focused critical care TEE in comparison to lecture-based education only. After 8 hours of simulator and lecture-based training, the majority of TEEs of novices are of sufficient quality for clinical use. Furthermore, a substantial skill level in correct quantification and interpretation of imaging is achieved.

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