The academic challenge of teaching psychomotor skills for hemostasis of solid organ injury.
BACKGROUND
This study highlights the inherent challenges of achieving psychomotor skills in an era of nonoperative therapy for solid organ injuries. Technical procedures on the liver, the most frequent intra-abdominal solid organ injured, were assessed in five decades.


METHODS
Guided by prospective assessment and registry data, all patients with liver injury seen during 24 months in five consecutive decades were reviewed. Initially (1960s), all injuries were explored; currently (2000s), most injuries are observed. The number of patients was 235 (1960s), 228 (1970s), 79 (1980s), 116 (1990s), and 64 (2000s). The greater number in the 1990s reflects the diagnosis of minor, clinically insignificant, blunt injuries after abdominal CAT scan became available. Each injury was categorized by cause, severity (Abbreviated Injury Scale), associated shock, and primary therapy (observe [OBS], operation alone [OR], hepatorrhaphy [SUT], tractotomy [TRACT] with intraparenchymal hemostasis, hepatic dearterialization [HAL], and resection [RESECT]). Packing, used in each decade, was placed in one of the above primary treatment groups.


RESULTS
The primary techniques for hemostasis are shown in the text table.Shock and Abbreviated Injury Scale correlated with mortality averaged 16%; 40 of 116 deaths (34%) exsanguinated from hepatic injury. During training, a resident performed an average of 12.0, 12.0, 2.4, 4.0, and 1.3 procedures for hemostasis.


CONCLUSIONS
Reduced incidence and decreased therapeutic laparotomies for liver injury have created a training vacuum for future trauma surgeons. Surgical residents will need to supplement their clinical experience with solid organ hemostasis by practice on appropriate animal models of injury and cadaver dissections.
Lucas
Charles E
CE
Department of Surgery, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA. clucas@med.wayne.edu
Ledgerwood
Anna M
AM
D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education* / Q000639:trends; D006488:Hemostasis, Surgical / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000639:trends; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D008824:Michigan; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012771:Shock, Hemorrhagic / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*