O31 Central venous access in ventilated COVID-19 patients: a vascular surgery perspective

Introduction The number of patients on intensive care units (ICU) increased manifold during the initial COVID-19 surge and medical staff were relocated to help compensate. The need for central venous catheters (CVCs) increased accordingly and comprised a significant workload under challenging circumstances. Several models were proposed to manage the lines. We assigned a vascular team of vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists for CVCs in ICU. We report on the workload, outcomes and lessons learned. Method 50 consecutive ventilated COVID-19 patients in ICU (median age 63 years, 80% male) who had a CVC inserted by the vascular team from March to May 2020 were assessed. Median follow up was 18 days (range 14– 29 days) after ICU admission. Result 166 CVCs (80 VasCaths) were inserted. Femoral access was preferred. Each patient required a median of 3 lines (IQR 2–4). CVCs were exchanged after median 7 days (IQR 4–9) for thrombosis (35%), infection (24%) or prophylactically (41%). Our learning curve included the establishment of an online referral pathway, CVC teams of two operators, extended disposable CVC kits and ICU based ultrasound scanners. Additional staffing and retraining were avoided. There were no technical complications. Conclusion Ventilated COVID-19 patients require multiple CVCs which is a challenging workload during a pandemic. Vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists with endovascular skills are well positioned to perform central venous cannulation to alleviate the burden on critical care teams. Our lessons learned can help to provide a safe and efficient model amidst the ongoing national outbreaks. Take-home Message With the postponement of many elective vascular procedures during the pandemic crisis, the involvement of vascular surgeons in a dedicated Lines team is an important way that they can contribute given their proficiency with wires and cannulation equipment, as well as familiarity in femoral triangle and jugular anatomy. The retraining of staff and additional on-call rotas can then be avoided.

A Course on Endovascular Training for Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (ET-REBOA): A Pilot Study for Residents and Specialists

Background: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) has emerged as a salvage technique changing the paradigm in the management of non-compressible torso hemorrhage. However, training for the REBOA procedure is rarely performed. The endovascular training for REBOA (ET-REBOA) course was conducted to develop the endovascular skills of participants. Methods: Sixteen residents and 12 specialists participated in this educational course. All participants were provided with pre-course learning materials that consisted of a lecture on the introduction of REBOA and a demonstration video clip a week before the course. The ET-REBOA course consisted of two sections: an ultrasound-guided sheath insertion on the puncture model, and a balloon manipulation on the vascular circuit model. A 13-item procedure checklist and the time required to perform the procedure were examined. Pre/post self-reported confidence score and course satisfaction questionnaire was obtained. Results: Twenty-eight participants performed the 56 REBOA procedures. Seven of 16 residents failed their first attempt. On the first attempt, the median total time for REBOA from ultrasound-guided vascular access to balloon inflation was 1139 ± 250 s in the resident group and 828 ± 280 s in the specialist group. The median shortened time for completion was 273 s in the resident group and 290 s in the specialist group. A significant decrease in procedure task time was observed between first and second attempt in the resident group (p = 0.016), specialist group (p = 0.004), and in total amongst all participants (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The ET-REBOA course significantly decreased the time taken to perform the REBOA procedure with high satisfaction of the participants. The course could be an effective curriculum for the development of endovascular skills for performing REBOA.

A Survey on the Current Status and Future Challenges Towards Objective Skills Assessment in Endovascular Surgery

Minimally invasive endovascular interventions have evolved rapidly over the past decade, facilitated by breakthroughs in medical imaging and sensing, instrumentation and most recently robotics. Catheter-based operations are potentially safer and applicable to a wider patient population due to the reduced comorbidity. As a result endovascular surgery has become the preferred treatment option for conditions previously treated with open surgery and as such the number of patients undergoing endovascular interventions is increasing every year. This fact coupled with a proclivity for reduced working hours results in a requirement for efficient training and assessment of new surgeons, that deviates from the “see one, do one, teach one” model introduced by William Halsted, so that trainees obtain operational expertise in a shorter period. Developing more objective assessment tools based on quantitative metrics is now a recognized need in interventional training and this manuscript reports the current literature for endovascular skills assessment and the associated emerging technologies. A systematic search was performed on PubMed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, IEEXplore and known journals using the keywords, “endovascular surgery”, “surgical skills”, “endovascular skills”, “surgical training endovascular” and “catheter skills”. Focusing explicitly on endovascular surgical skills, we group related works into three categories based on the metrics used; structured scales and checklists, simulation-based and motion-based metrics. This review highlights the key findings in each category and also provides suggestions for new research opportunities towards fully objective and automated surgical assessment solutions.