Effectiveness of an Interactive Cognitive Support Tablet App to Improve the Management of Pediatric Cardiac Arrest (PediAppRREST)

PediAppRREST - Effectiveness of an Interactive Cognitive Support Tablet App in Reducing Deviations From Guidelines in the Management of Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: a Simulation-based Randomized Controlled Trial

Pediatric cardiac arrest (PCA) has a high mortality and morbidity. Its management is complex and often deviates from guideline recommendations leading to patients' worse clinical outcomes. A new tablet app, named PediAppRREST has been developed by our research group to support the management of PCA. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of the PediAppRREST app on the management of a PCA simulated scenario. The investigators have planned to conduct a multicenter, simulation-based, randomized control trial assessing the number of deviations (errors and delays) from international recommendations in PCA management. The hypothesis is that teams who use the PediAppRREST app as a cognitive aid will show fewer deviations from guidelines than teams who use a static paper-based cognitive aid (American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support pocket reference card) or no cognitive aid, during the management of a simulated PCA scenario.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiac Arrest
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: PediAppRREST; Other: AHA-PALS pocket reference card

Detailed Description

AIMS

The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new tablet app, named PediAppRREST, in reducing deviations from guideline recommendations during pediatric cardiac arrest management.

The secondary aim is to assess the impact of the use of the app on performance and time to accomplish critical interventions for resuscitation, team leader's workload, cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality metrics and overall resuscitation team performance. Furthermore, the study will have the purpose to evaluate the usability of the app.

METHODS

PARTICIPANTS

Participants will be residents in Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Anesthesiology-Intensive Care programs at four Italian University Hospitals (Padova, Firenze, Novara, and Roma). In order to be included in the study, residents must be BLS (Basic Life Support) or P-BLS (Pediatric-Basic Life Support) or PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) or ALS (Advanced Life Support) or ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certified, following the American Heart Association (AHA) or the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) recommendations. Additionally, to be eligible for the role of team leader residents must be PALS-certified according to AHA or ERC guidelines. Those residents who are unable to attend the simulation sessions because of maternity/paternity leave, personal/sick leave or training abroad, or who have participated in previous studies using the PediAppRREST app will not be eligible to participate in the trial.

STUDY DESIGN

This will be a multicenter, randomized controlled, three-parallel arm study, conducted in the setting of simulation. All teams, each consisting of three participants, will manage the same scenario of non-shockable pediatric cardiac arrest with the help of one confederate nurse who will act according to a script. Participants will be randomized to teams, and teams to interventions, using a 1:1:1 ratio. According to the allocation into one of three study arms, teams will use, or not use, a different PALS-related cognitive aid during the management of the scenario: 1) an intervention group using the tablet app PediAppRREST; or 2) a control group (CtrlPALS+) using the AHA-PALS pocket reference card; or 3) a control group (CtrlPALS-) not allowed to use any cognitive aid.

All the simulation scenarios will be video recorded, and two independent, previously trained reviewers will report actions performed by the teams and time to accomplish them. Outcomes will be subsequently assessed by two independent outcome assessors using data extracted by video reviewers.

OUTCOMES

The primary outcome of the study will be the number of deviations from AHA PALS guidelines recommendations during the management of pediatric cardiac arrest, defined as delays and errors according to a novel checklist, named c-DEV15plus, based on previously published guidelines, checklists and scoring systems/evaluation tools.

The secondary outcomes will be the performance of critical actions for resuscitation and the time to perform them, the usability of the app (measured by open-ended questions and one validated questionnaire: the System Usability Scale), the team leaders' workload (measured by the validated NASA-Task Load Index), the quality metrics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (extracted by the manikin's software SkillReporter, Laerdal™) according to AHA guidelines, and the overall team resuscitation performance (measured by the validated Clinical Performance Tool).

SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION

The investigators calculated the sample size on the basis of the results obtained during two previous studies: one observational simulation-based study and one pilot study conducted to test the app usability. Based on the preliminary results from these studies, using a single factor ANOVA model, 29 scenarios per each of the three groups (PediAppRREST, CtrlPALS+, CtrlPALS-) are necessary to detect a difference of at least 3.00 points on the c-DEV15plus scale using the Tukey-Kramer (Pairwise) multiple comparison procedure at a 5% significance level and 80% power. In consideration that some possible technical problems with video-recording or other study procedures could occur, the investigators aim to increase the recruitment of participating teams by 20% per arm, to compensate for loss of statistical power due to a potential insufficient sample size. Hence, the investigators plan to have 35 scenarios per arm, for a total of 105 scenarios, which will include overall 315 residents who will be divided in teams of three.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The c-DEV15plus scale, the performance and time to accomplish specific resuscitation interventions, workload, overall team performance and cardiopulmonary resuscitation metrics will be compared between groups with one-way ANOVA model, followed by the Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons adjustment procedure in case of statistical significance. The outcomes will also be analyzed with a linear mixed model considering the team as a cluster to evaluate the influence of participants' characteristics on the outcome. To take into account the correlation of the observations within a team, the investigators will specify an undetermined correlation matrix. In case of a not normal distribution of the model residuals, the investigators will proceed with a transformation in order to normalize the distribution.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION

A written informed consent to take part into the study will be obtained from each participant. To ensure that the data collected remains confidential, all data and videos will be stored on password protected and secured hard-disk drives, that will be stored in locked filing cabinets located at the Department of Women's and Children's health, University of Padova, Italy.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 324
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Firenze, Italy
    • Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Meyer, University of Firenze
  • Novara, Italy
    • Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Maggiore della Carità, Università del Piemonte Orientale
  • Padova, Italy
    • Azienda Ospedale Università di Padova, University of Padova
  • Roma, Italy
    • Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 24 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• to be attending a medical residency training program in Pediatrics, Anesthesiology-Intensive Care or Emergency Medicine
• to be BLS (Basic Life Support) or P-BLS (Pediatric-Basic Life Support) or PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Suport) or ALS (Advanced Life Support) or ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certified, following the American Heart Association (AHA) or the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) courses
• to give consent to participate to the study and to be video-recorded.

Additionally, to be eligible for the role of team leader, residents must be PALS-certified according to AHA or ERC guidelines

Exclusion Criteria:

• to be unable to attend the simulation sessions because of personal leave, maternity/paternity leave, sick leave or training abroad
• participation in previous studies using the PediAppRREST app

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: PediAppRREST app; The teams assigned to the PediAppRREST arm will manage the simulated scenario of pediatric cardiac arrest using the new PediAppRREST tablet app as a cognitive aid.	Device: PediAppRREST; PediAppRREST is a new audiovisual interactive app for tablets developed to support the management of pediatric cardiac arrest. It sequentially displays directions on recommended management interventions. It was specifically designed to guide the team leader to perform resuscitation interventions in the sequence/timing and modality reported by the American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support (AHA-PALS) guidelines.
Active Comparator: CtrlPALS+; The teams assigned to the CtrlPALS+ arm will manage the simulated scenario of pediatric cardiac arrest using the American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support (AHA-PALS) pocket reference card.	Other: AHA-PALS pocket reference card; It is a 10 cm x 16.5 cm, full-color, 2-sided, 6-panel card that shows the American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support (AHA-PALS) treatment algorithms. By providing a quick reference tool, it serves as a cognitive aid for healthcare providers who either direct or participate in the management of pediatric respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies, including cardiac arrest.
No Intervention: CtrlPALS-; The teams assigned to the CtrlPALS- arm will manage the simulated scenario of pediatric cardiac arrest using no PALS-related cognitive aids.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Deviations from American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support (AHA-PALS) guidelines	Deviations from AHA-PALS guidelines recommendations are defined as delays and errors according to a novel checklist we derived from a previously published checklist, denominated c-DEV (circulation-deviations), published by Wolfe et al. (2020), by integrating it with evidence-based guidelines, previously reported scoring tools and checklists. We named our new modified checklist c-DEV15plus (circulation-deviations 15 plus). It includes 15 items, which represent correct critical actions for pediatric resuscitation. Each item of the c-DEV15plus is scored either as 0, when the action is performed correctly and timely, as described in the item, or as 1, when the action is not undertaken, undertaken incorrectly, or with wrong timing. The sum of the points attributed to the items represents the c-DEV15plus total score, hence ranging from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 15, with higher scores corresponding to a higher number of deviations from the guidelines and a worse performance.	Scenario will be video recorded and evaluated by two independent video reviewers. Outcome assessors will score teams' performance by means of the c-DEV15plus score using data extracted by video reviewers through study completion, an average of 15 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recognition of cardiac arrest (pulsenessness)	The percentage of teams that recognize cardiac arrest (pulselessness).	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the pulsessness recognition, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to cardiac arrest (pulsenessness) recognition	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the recognition of cardiac arrest (pulselessness), in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to pulselessness recognition, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Performance of chest compressions	Percentage of teams that start chest compressions.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the performance of chest compressions, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start chest compressions from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the start of chest compressions, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start chest compressions, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start chest compressions from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the start of chest compressions, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start chest compressions, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Performance of ventilation	Percentage of teams that start ventilation.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the start of ventilation, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start of ventilation from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the start ventilation, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start ventilation, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start of ventilation from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the start ventilation, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start ventilation, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin	Percentage of teams that use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the use of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the use of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the use of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to use a cardiopulmonary resuscitation board or a rigid surface underneath the manikin, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Call for emergency team help	Percentage of teams that call for emergency team help.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the call for emergency team help, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to call for emergency team help from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to call for emergency team help, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to call for emergency team help, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to call for emergency team help from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to call for emergency team help, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to call for emergency team help, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Use of electrocardiogram monitoring	Percentage of teams that use of electrocardiogram monitoring.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the use of electrocardiogram monitoring, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start electrocardiogram monitoring from arrest recognition	Time from cardiac arrest recognition to start of electrocardiogram monitoring, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start electrocardiogram monitoring, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to start electrocardiogram monitoring from the beginning of scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to start of electrocardiogram monitoring, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to start electrocardiogram monitoring, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Administration of a correct first epinephrine	Percentage of teams that perform a correct first epinephrine administration (correct dose, dilution, route, followed by a normal saline flush).	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the correct administration of the first epinephrine, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to first epinephrine administration from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the first epinephrine administration, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to the first epinephrine administration, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to first epinephrine administration from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the first epinephrine administration, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to the first epinephrine administration, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Administration of a correct second epinephrine	Percentage of teams that perform a correct second epinephrine administration (correct dose, dilution, route, followed by a normal saline flush).	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the correct administration of the second epinephrine dose, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to second epinephrine administration from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the second epinephrine administration, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to second epinephrine administration, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to second epinephrine administration from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the second epinephrine administration, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to second epinephrine administration, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Treatment of reversible causes	Percentage of teams that correctly treat at least one reversible cause (hypovolemia or hypoglycemia).	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the correct treatment of reversible causes, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to treatment of reversible causes from arrest recognition	Time from the recognition of cardiac arrest to the treatment of reversible causes, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to treatment of reversible causes, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Time to treatment of reversible causes from the beginning of the scenario	Time from the beginning of the scenario to the treatment of reversible causes, in seconds.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively two independent video reviewers will assess the time to treatment of reversible causes, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Usability of the app - System Usability Scale	To assess the PediAppRREST app usability, the team leaders of the intervention group will complete one validated questionnaire, the System Usability Scale (SUS). It consists of a 10-item questionnaire with five response options. Its scores ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100. Higher scores corresponde to a better usability.	Questionnaires will be completed after each simulated scenario through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Usability of the app - Open-ended questions	To further assess the PediAppRREST app usability, the team leaders of the intervention group will answer open-ended questions about app usability in a questionnaire.	Questionnaires will be completed after each simulated scenario through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Team leaders' workload	Team leaders' workload measured by the validated, multidimensional NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire. The values of this score range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100. A higher value means a higher perceived workload.	Questionnaires will be completed by team leaders after each simulated scenario through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality - Mean chest compression rate	CPR quality will be measured by the Skill Reporter (Laerdal™), the software associated to the manikin (Resusci Junior, Laerdal™). Mean chest compression rate is expressed in number of compressions/minute.	CPR quality data will be extracted by the manikin's software after each simulated scenario, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality metrics - Mean chest compression depth	CPR quality will be measured by the Skill Reporter (Laerdal™), the software associated to the manikin (Resusci Junior, Laerdal™). The mean chest compression depth is reported in millimeters.	CPR quality data will be extracted by the manikin's software after each simulated scenario, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality metrics - Compression depth correctness	CPR quality will be measured by the Skill Reporter (Laerdal™), the software associated to the manikin (Resusci Junior, Laerdal™). Compression depth correctness is defined as the proportion of chest compressions with a correct depth of 50-60 mm, according to AHA standards.	CPR quality data will be extracted by the manikin's software after each simulated scenario, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality metrics - Chest compressions fraction	CPR quality will be measured by the Skill Reporter (Laerdal™), the software associated to the manikin (Resusci Junior, Laerdal™). The chest compression fraction is defined as the proportion of resuscitation time during which chest compressions are administered.	CPR quality data will be extracted by the manikin's software after each simulated scenario, through study completion, an average of 15 months.
Team resuscitation performance	Team resuscitation performance will be evaluated using the Clinical Performance Tool (CPT). The CPT is a validated scoring system designed based on AHA PALS algorithms, through which sequence, timing, and quality of specific actions, during different simulated scenarios, can be assessed. Outcome assessors will use the CPT section for the asystole scenario to evaluate teams' performance. The values of this score range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 13. Higher scores correspond to a better team performance.	Scenario will be video recorded and successively evaluated by two independent video reviewers. Outcome assessors will score teams' performance by means of CPT using data extracted by video reviewers, through study completion, an average of 15 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Padova
• Collaborators: Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; University of Florence; Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro"
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Silvia Bressan, MD, PhD, University of Padova; Principal Investigator: Francesco Corazza, MD, University of Padova

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Corazza F, Snijders D, Arpone M, Stritoni V, Martinolli F, Daverio M, Losi MG, Soldi L, Tesauri F, Da Dalt L, Bressan S. Development and Usability of a Novel Interactive Tablet App (PediAppRREST) to Support the Management of Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: Pilot High-Fidelity Simulation-Based Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Oct 1;8(10):e19070. doi: 10.2196/19070.
• Wolfe HA, Morgan RW, Zhang B, Topjian AA, Fink EL, Berg RA, Nadkarni VM, Nishisaki A, Mensinger J, Sutton RM; American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation Investigator. Deviations from AHA guidelines during pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation are associated with decreased event survival. Resuscitation. 2020 Apr;149:89-99. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2020.01.035. Epub 2020 Feb 11.
• Corazza F, Arpone M, Snijders D, Cheng A, Stritoni V, Ingrassia PL, De Luca M, Tortorolo L, Frigo AC, Da Dalt L, Bressan S. PediAppRREST: effectiveness of an interactive cognitive support tablet app in reducing deviations from guidelines in the management of paediatric cardiac arrest: protocol for a simulation-based randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2021 Jul 28;11(7):e047208. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047208.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 21, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 14, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 5, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): November 6, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 18, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 17, 2022
• Last Verified: May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pediatrics; simulation; cardiac arrest; emergency medicine; resuscitation; mobile app; cognitive aid
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Arrest
• Other Study ID Numbers: BIRD191291

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No