Impact of Stress on the Performance of Neonatal Endotracheal Intubation: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Manikins

Although a required skill in pediatric residency programs, success rate of neonatal endotracheal intubation (ETI) among trainees is known to be inadequate. Currently, it is taught using simulation; a teaching method that seems useful mainly for limited short-term retention of skill. In the clinical setting, ETI is often associated with stress, which could explain the limited educational impact of simulation training. The effect of stress on the success of this procedure is poorly studied.

Therefore, the objective of the investigators study is to assess the impact of stress on the success of simulated neonatal ETI.

Hypotheses to be tested: The primary hypothesis is that stressful conditions will negatively impact residents' success of endotracheal intubation on neonatal manikins. Secondary hypotheses include: 1) stressful conditions will be associated with an increased time to successful intubation and decreased performance on the intubation checklist; 2) there will be a positive correlation between heart rate/cortisol levels and resident's response on the State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire (STAI).

Design: This study will be a crossover randomized controlled trial in the setting of the simulation laboratory. Subjects will include pediatric residents and pediatric subspecialty residents. Exclusion criteria will include any medical condition or medication that can have a significant impact on cortisol levels. The residents will be randomized using sealed envelopes to perform a neonatal ETI in a low or a high stress environment, and then crossover to the other on a separate day. Stress will be created and standardized by using audio alarms, third party supervisors and simulated manikin instability. Level of stress of participants will be assessed at baseline during a lecture, upon arrival to the simulation center and after the simulated procedure. This will be done using salivary cortisol, heart rate and the STAI questionnaire. ETI procedures will be videotaped and performance will be assessed by two external reviewers using a validated checklist.

Analysis: Primary and secondary outcomes include: success rate, checklist performance, time to successful intubation, rate of esophageal intubation and stress levels (cortisol, heart rate and questionnaire). Continuous variables will be analyzed by the independent sample t test and categorical variables will be analyzed by Fisher's exact test. Statistical significance will be defined by a 2-sided alpha of 0.05 and power of 80%. To demonstrate a decrease of success rate of ETI from 80% (retrieved from previous simulation study in a LS environment) to 60%, 64 intubations are needed per group.