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P257 Development and use of a vegan phantom scanning model to aid teaching of serratus anterior plane blocks

rapm · 2025-09-10 · canonical JSON source

2 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background and Aims To develop a homemade, affordable and reproducible vegan phantom model, representative of the sonoanatomy visualised when doing an ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) To use this alongside a teaching session to improve confidence in doing SAPBs for patients with rib fractures.Methods 1. Initial survey to determine confidence in managing patients with rib fractures, particularly chest wall blocks 2. Development of a vegan scanning phantom to enable practice of SAPBs. 3. Presentation of the findings of the initial survey to the department to highlight the need for this session 4. Delivery of a teaching session to the department, using the phantom model to allow participants to practice in a safe environment, alongside human scanning to identify the sonoanatomy more accurately 5. A repeat survey to identify changes in confidence in rib fracture management and in particular, SAPBsResults Evaluation of the Vegan Scanning Model: - feedback was obtained from attendees of the teaching session - ‘The phantom mimics the expected sonoanatomy of a serratus anterior block’. 91% agree/strongly agree with this statement - ‘The substances used provide tactile feedback on needling, similar to human tissue’. 57% agree/strongly agree with this statement - ‘The phantom was a useful teaching tool alongside live model scanning’. 100% agree/strongly agree with this statement Findings of the post-teaching survey: - Confidence in managing mild pain due to chest trauma improved from 4.4/5 to 4.6/5 and for moderate to severe pain improved from 3.8/5 to 4.1/5 - Confidence in single shot SAPB improved from 3.3/5 to 3.9/5 - Confidence in SAPB with catheter insertion improved from 2.6/5 to 3.5/5Conclusions The phantom model had its limitations but was used effectively alongside live scanning to enable practice of SAPBs in a safe environment. Alongside a teaching session, improvements in confidence of inserting SAPBs improved.