Early Complications Following Facial Laceration Repair Performed by Emergency Physicians After One Year of Wound Closure Training

Objective Facial lacerations, which are common in the emergency department, have usually been repaired by non–facial trauma specialists, such as emergency physicians. Given the ongoing discussion regarding quality assurance or the optimal training model on facial laceration repair for nonspecialists, we sought to determine the impact of a 1‐year wound closure training provided to emergency physicians. We hypothesized a decrease in early complications following facial wound closure after the training. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted between 2013 and 2015 at an academic center. We included patients with isolated facial lacerations that were repaired by emergency physicians and reviewed by board‐certified plastic surgeons during a follow‐up visit. Patients whose wounds were not reviewed within 3 days were excluded. The 1‐year training curriculum, which consisted of several sessions of lecture, hands‐on practice, and case review, had been developed by a multidisciplinary team and provided to emergency physicians. Patient data were divided between nonparticipant and participant groups, and a propensity score was developed to estimate the probability of being assigned to the participant group. The incidence of early complications, defined as the need for additional suturing or resuturing due to wound dehiscence, was compared among the groups after propensity score matching. Results Although 132 patients satisfied all the inclusion criteria, 11 were excluded due to delayed initial wound review. Among the 70 patients who were eventually included in the participant group, 40 were matched with those in the nonparticipant group. The incidence of early complications was significantly lower in the participant group than in the nonparticipant group (5.0% vs. 20.0%, odds ratio = 0.21, 95% confidence interval = 0.07–0.61, p = 0.04). Conclusions The 1‐year training provided to emergency physicians reduced the incidence of early complications following facial laceration repair. Accordingly, future wound closure training models should consider the 1‐year training curriculum presented herein.