Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28238058›Full record

Trial reportLangenbeck's archives of surgery2017

Training or non-surgical factors-what determines a good surgical performance? A randomised controlled trial.

Cornelia Lindlohr, R Lefering, S Saad, M M Heiss, C Pape-Köhler

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Langenbeck's archives of surgery, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exploring "Talent" in Medical Education: A Scoping Review.Perspectives on medical education · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The Selection of Main Surgical Work Factors in Operating Rooms.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Cornelia LindlohrDepartment for General, Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery, Clinic Gummersbach, Academic Hospital, University of Cologne, Wilhelm-Breckow-Allee 20, 51643, Gummersbach, Germany. colilo@web.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9950-8362
R LeferingInstitute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), University Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany.
S SaadDepartment for General, Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery, Clinic Gummersbach, Academic Hospital, University of Cologne, Wilhelm-Breckow-Allee 20, 51643, Gummersbach, Germany.
M M HeissDepartment for Abdominal, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, Cologne-Merheim Medical Centre, University of Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany.
C Pape-KöhlerDepartment for General and Abdominal Surgery, Protestant Hospital, Cologne-Weyertal, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcquiring laparoscopic skills is a necessity for every young surgeon. Whether it is a talent or a non-surgical skill that determines the surgical performance of an endoscopic operation has been discussed for years. In other disciplines aptitude testing has become the norm. Airlines, for example, have implemented assessments to test the natural aptitude of future pilots to predict their performance later on. In the medical field, especially surgery, there are no similar comparable tests implemented or even available. This study investigates the influence of potential factors that may predict the successful performance of a complex laparoscopic operation, such as the surgeon's age, gender or learning method.

methodsThis study focussed 70 surgical trainees. It was designed as a secondary analysis of data derived from a 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial of practical training and/or multimedia training (four groups) in an experimental exercise. Both before and then after the training sessions, the participating trainees performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a pelvitrainer. Surgical performance was then evaluated using a modified objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS). Participants were classified as 'Skilled' (high score in the pre-test), 'Good Learner' (increase from pre- to post-test) or 'Others' based on the OSATS results. Based on the results of the recorded performance, the training methods as well as non-surgical skills were eventually evaluated in a univariate and in a multivariate analysis.

resultsIn the pre-training performance 11 candidates were categorised as 'Skilled' (15.7%), 35 participants as 'Good Learners' (50.0%) and 24 participants were classified as 'Others'. The univariate analysis showed that the age, a residency in visceral surgery, and participation in a multimedia training were significantly associated with this grouping. Multivariate analyses revealed that residency in visceral surgery was the most predictive factor for the 'Skilled' participants (p = 0.059), and multimedia training was most predictive for the 'Good Learner' (p = 0.006). Participants in the group of 'Others' who were neither 'Skilled' nor improved in the training phase were younger (p = 0.011) and did not receive multimedia (p < 0.001) or practical (p = 0.025) training.

conclusionThe type of learning method has been shown to be the most effective factor to improve laparoscopic skills, with multimedia training proving to be more effective than practical training.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceInternship and ResidencyAdultAge FactorsAptitudeCholecystectomy, LaparoscopicComputer-Assisted InstructionFemaleHumansMaleProblem-Based LearningSex FactorsAptitudeMultimedia trainingNon-surgical skillsOSATSSurgical performanceSurgical training

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.