Clinical trial NCT05256355: Competency-based Assessment in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Official title: Competency-based Assessment in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound- a Validity Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Musculoskeletal Diseases
Keywords: Training
Ultrasound
Medical education
Lead sponsor: Rigshospitalet, Denmark
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-02-25
Enrollment: 30
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: DIAGNOSTIC

Brief summary: Early diagnosis and rapid treatment initiation are of most importance to prevent joint damage in patients with arthritis. Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is becoming an integrated part of rheumatology routine care and is more sensitive than clinical examination for detecting synovitis even in the early stage of disease.

However, MSUS is highly operator dependent and competences are needed to ensure correct image interpretation. Traditionally competences are evaluated on how many examinations the trainees have performed, but the gold standard has now shifted towards competency-based education where objective assessment tools are the key element. A previous study has developed a scale for assessment of ultrasound competence, The Objective Structured Assessment of Ultrasound skills (OSAUS). Although expert consensus supports evidence of content validity of the assessment instrument, it is not known if the OSAUS scale can discriminate differences in performance scores between different levels of MSUS experience in rheumatology in a reliable way.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Physicians working at the rheumatology departments in Denmark:

  1. Novices: No or little experience with MSUS (less than 100 examinations).
  2. Intermediates: Participated and completed at least one formal ultrasound course and more than 100 examinations (less than 1000 MSUS examinations).
  3. Physicians with a long experience in MSUS doing the procedure almost daily and providing teaching and/or research within this field (more than 1000 examinations).

Exclusion Criteria:

* No informed consent
* Novices/Intermediates: extensive experience in MSUS

Primary outcomes:
measure: Performance score
timeFrame: Up to 12 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Glostrup
country: Denmark
facility: Stine Carstensen
Study officials:
affiliation: Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research, Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Centre for Head and Orthopaedics, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark
name: Stine Maya Carstensen, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Tolsgaard MG, Todsen T, Sorensen JL, Ringsted C, Lorentzen T, Ottesen B, Tabor A. International multispecialty consensus on how to evaluate ultrasound competence: a Delphi consensus survey. PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e57687. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057687. Epub 2013 Feb 28.
citation: Brown AK, O'Connor PJ, Wakefield RJ, Roberts TE, Karim Z, Emery P. Practice, training, and assessment among experts performing musculoskeletal ultrasonography: toward the development of an international consensus of educational standards for ultrasonography for rheumatologists. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Dec 15;51(6):1018-22. doi: 10.1002/art.20844.
citation: Carstensen SMD, Terslev L, Jensen MP, Ostergaard M. Future use of musculoskeletal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in rheumatoid arthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2020 May;32(3):264-272. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0000000000000709.
citation: Nayahangan LJ, Dietrich CF, Nielsen MB. Simulation-based training in ultrasound - where are we now? Ultraschall Med. 2021 Jun;42(3):240-244. doi: 10.1055/a-1352-5944. Epub 2021 Jun 15. No abstract available.