Study title: The influence of the pretest effect on posttest scores in a bronchoscopy simulation setting.
The study setup involved a pretest session where participants underwent a brief introduction to bronchoscopy and simulator equipment handling. This was followed by a pretest consisting of two tasks on a flexible bronchoscopy simulator: non-anatomical (basic scope manipulation) and anatomical (lung anatomy and bronchial segments). A short break was scheduled between the tasks to prevent muscle fatigue, during which participants received basic background anatomy information. Following the pretest, a break of 4-6 hours was scheduled before the posttest session, where participants repeated the two simulator tasks.
In the non-anatomical environment task, participants navigated the bronchoscope tip through a digital maze following a blue ball. In the anatomical environment task, participants navigated to and entered airway segments sequentially.
Outcome measures included navigational skill scores between the two tests, assessed through simulator metrics for the non-anatomical task and procedure time, number of correctly entered segments, and overall scores on a bronchoscopy assessment tool for the anatomical task.
Instruments used: simulator metrics obtained from the “Essential Bronchoscopy” module of the GI-BRONCH Mentor flexible bronchoscopy simulator (Surgical Science, Sweden) were used as outcome measures for the non-anatomical environment task. A basic bronchoscopy assessment tool was employed (see Supplemental Digital Content 3 of the study) for assessment of the anatomical environment task.
Data files: the “240312 full dataset prepost study.sav” file contains the whole dataset, with participant age, sex and all outcome measures.
Overview of parameters in the .sav file:
Age: age in years
Sex: 0 = male, 1 = female
Non-anatomical environment task variables:
Lumen_pre & lumen_post: % of time at mid-lumen in the pretest and posttest
N_wall_pre & N_wall_post: the number of wall contacts in the pretest and posttest
Time_task1_pre & Time_task1_post: pretest and posttest total time
Scope_wall_pre & Scope_wall_post: % of time with scope-wall contact in the pretest and posttest
Wallcontact_min_pre & Wallcontact_min_post: the number of wall contacts per minute in the pretest and posttest
Anatomical environment task variables. Note: for all assessment tool parameters, higher scores in the .sav file indicate a better performance. For instance: For parameter 1 “Scope introduction” a score of 1 in SPSS means 3 or more tries, a score of 2 in SPSS equals 2 tries, a score of 3 in SPSS equals 1 try. For parameter 6, Hand-wrist movements, a score of 1 in SPSS means “Wrong position of hand and fingers during the procedure with too much tension” and a score of 5 means “Right position of hand and fingers during the procedure with a relaxed posture”.
Introduction_pre & introduction_post: Assessment tool parameter 1 score in pretest and posttest (scope introduction). Range 1 – 3.
RL_reach_pre & RL_reach_post: Assessment tool parameter 2 score in pretest and posttest (entered segments in right lung). Range 1 – 3.
LL_reach_pre & LL_reach_post: Assessment tool parameter 3 score in pretest and posttest (entered segments in left lung). Range 1 – 3.
Intra_move_pre & Intra_move_post: Assessment tool parameter 4 score in pretest and posttest (intra-bronchial scope movement overall). Range 1 – 5.
Scope_handl_pre & Scope_handl_post: Assessment tool parameter 5 score in pretest and posttest (scope handling). Range 1 – 5.
Hand_wrist_pre & Hand_wrist_post: Assessment tool parameter 6 score in pretest and posttest (hand-wrist movements). Range 1 – 5.
Time_task_3_pre & Time_task_3_post: Assessment tool parameter 7 score in pretest and posttest (procedure time in seconds).
Overall_pre & Overall_post: overall scores on the assessment tool in the pretest and posttest. Range 1- 5.
Other parameters of the anatomical environment task (not from assessment tool):
Missed_segments_R_pre & Missed_segments_R_post: number of missed segments in the right lung in pretest and posttest. Range 0 – 10.
Missed_segments_L_pre & Missed_segments_L-post: number of missed segments in the left lung in pretest and posttest. Range 0 – 8.
Log[name variable]: logarithmic transformation of parameters to check for normality of some parameters of which there was a differing normality in the pretest and posttest.
Correctly_enter_pre & Correctly_enter_post = total number of correctly entered segments in the pretest and posttest. Range 0 – 18.
Correctly_enter_R_pre & Corretly_enter_R_post = total number of correctly entered segments of the right lung in the pretest and posttest. Range 0 – 10.
Correctly_enter_L_pre & Correctly_enter_L_post = total number of correctly entered segments of the left lung in the pretest and posttest. Range 0 – 8.
