AUTHOR=Mao Yu , Liu Lu , Zhong John , Qin Pei , Ma Rui , Zuo Mingzhang , Zhang Li , Yang Lifang 

TITLE=Tracheal intubation in patients with Pierre Robin sequence: development, application, and clinical value based on a 3-dimensional printed simulator

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1292523

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2023.1292523

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> The main clinical manifestations of patients with Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) include micrognathia, the glossoptosis and dyspnoea. The difficulty of tracheal intubation (TI) in such patients is increased.</p><p><bold>Objective:</bold> The purpose of the study was to evaluate the reliability and efficacy of the PRS simulator.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A PRS simulator was developed by using 3-dimensional (3D) printing technology under computer-aided design. A total of 12 anaesthesiologists each trained 5 times for TI on the PRS Training Simulator-1 and recorded the simulation time. After the training, they were randomly divided into three groups with a total of 12 nontrained anaesthesiologists, and the simulation was completed on PRS Simulator-2, 3 and 4. The simulation time was recorded, and the performance was evaluated by three chief anaesthesiologists. Then, all 24 anaesthesiologists completed the questionnaire.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A PRS simulator developed by 3D printing was used to simulate the important aspects of TI. The average number of years worked was 6.3 ± 3.1 years, and 66.7% were female. The time for the 12 anaesthesiologists to complete the training gradually decreased (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). Compared with the trained anaesthesiologists, the simulation time of TI in the nontrained anaesthesiologists was much longer (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). In addition, the simulation performance of the trained anaesthesiologists was relatively better (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The reliability and efficacy of the PRS simulator is herein preliminarily validated, and it has potential to become a teaching and training tool for anaesthesiologists.</p>