Lung Ultrasound Training for Respiratory Therapists

Abstract

Background: Bedside ultrasound is widely utilized for critically ill patients, yet there is no standardized approach for teaching lung ultrasound (LUS) to medical staff, especially respiratory therapists (RTs), in the United States. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an LUS training program designed for RTs.

Methods: With approval from the ethics committee, we recruited RTs with over 3 months of working experience at Rush University Medical Center to participate in our LUS training program. The program comprised a 1-h didactic lecture followed by hands-on practice on a healthy volunteer. A refresher training session was provided 6-9 months later for those who remained interested in LUS and were still employed at Rush University Medical Center. Pre-test and post-test assessments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the training and identify areas requiring further knowledge development.

Results: From October 2022 to April 2023, 23 RTs participated in the initial training, and 7 attended both the initial and the refresher training sessions. Following the initial session, total scores significantly improved (post-training 11.0 [9.0, 14.0] vs pre-training 1.0 [0, 2.0], P < .001) (Fig 1), with the subgroup focusing on identification on patterns achieving the highest percentage of correct answers. Among the 7 RTs who attended the refresher training, total scores significantly decreased over 6-9 months (12.9 ± 2.3 vs 4.4 ± 1.8, P = .001) (Fig 2). However, scores significantly rebounded after the refresher training (post-training 11.3 ± 3.1 vs pre-training 4.4 ± 1.8, P = .008), with no significant difference in post-training total scores between the initial and refresher sessions.

Conclusions: Both the initial and refresher training sessions of our LUS training programs effectively improved participants’ LUS knowledge. The observed decline in knowledge retention over 6-9 months highlights the necessity for periodic refresher courses to maintain skills. Incorporating a visual format may be beneficial for acquiring and retaining LUS knowledge.

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Figure 1A After the initial training, there was a significant increase the percentages of correct answers in each question. Figure 1B After the initial training, there was a significant decrease in the percentages of “I do not know” responses in each question.

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Fig 2. The variations of total scores at four time points for the seven RTs undergoing two training sessions.