Novel Simulation Model That Realizes Arterial and Venous Blood Flow for Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Catheter Insertion in Children

Objective: We developed and validated a realistic simulation model for ultrasound-guided central venous catheter insertion in children that is easy to build and inexpensive and can automatically reproduce arterial and venous blood flow. Methods: The simulation model was constructed with a chicken breast, two DWP-385 water pumps, two types of tubes and a controller. An elastic rubber tourniquet and a silicone tube were connected to each water pump, which generated different continuous flows mimicking those of the pediatric internal carotid artery and internal jugular vein, respectively. Both tubes were inserted into a piece of chicken breast and connected to the controller. Then, we provided a simulation program of ultrasound-guided central venous catheter insertion using our novel model to resident emergency medicine physicians. We also collected data on their knowledge and confidence levels regarding the procedure before and after the simulation via questionnaires utilizing a 5-point Likert scale. Results: The flow patterns of the artery and vein were well demonstrated with our model. A total of 11 resident physicians were enrolled. The knowledge and confidence regarding the discrimination of arteries and veins were significantly improved after training with our simulation model (p-value < 0.01). The subjective similarity and usefulness of our model also scored high on the questionnaire (median: 4; interquartile range in both categories: 4–5). Conclusion: Our novel simulation model is useful and realistic for ultrasound-guided central venous catheter insertion training. Clinical impact: This controlled motor system can be applied to many simulation models of artery and vein circulation.