Impact of an Intensive 2-day Endovascular Training Course on Technical Performance of Trainees

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 2-day international endovascular training course on the performance of trainees as compared with a control group, assessed in a bench model–based task using an objective structured evaluation protocol. Methods A total of 50 trainees, 28 course participants of 2 consecutive identical courses and a control group of 22 participants with a similar level of experience without course attendance, underwent baseline and final assessment (simulated arterial access task). The evaluation form consisted of a global assessment (GA), task-specific checklist percentage score (CL), and global rating scale percentage score (GR), with both percentage scores ranging from 0% (worst performance) to 100% (best performance). Results Course participants were more likely to pass the GA at final testing than the control group (odds ratio = 59; 95% confidence interval [CI] 9.5–656; P < 0.001). The estimated difference in percentage score at final testing between course participants and the control group was 26% (95% CI 18–34; P < 0.001) for the CL and 29% (95% CI 19–40; P < 0.001) for the GR. Conclusions A 2-day structured endovascular training course significantly improves endovascular performance in a simulated environment. These results are important for the design of endovascular training curricula with the ultimate goal of contributing to patient safety.