Trial reportThe Laryngoscope2026
Virtual Reality Mastoidectomy as Precadaver Training for Novices: A Randomized Crossover Study.
Trial report in The Laryngoscope, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare cognitive load during virtual reality (VR) simulation and cadaveric dissection (CD) mastoidectomy training in novice learners. To determine whether training order influences cognitive load, characterize cognitive load progression during the procedure, and assess whether VR training improves subsequent cadaveric performance.
methodsIn this randomized crossover study, 24 core surgical trainees with no prior mastoidectomy experience performed a cortical mastoidectomy in both VR and CD settings. Participants were randomized to either VR-first or CD-first training sequences. Cognitive load was measured using a bespoke auditory reaction-time device at baseline and 10, 30, and 50 min. Relative reaction time (RRT) served as an objective index of cognitive load. Cadaveric performance was assessed using the Modified Welling Scale by two blinded otologists.
resultsCognitive load was significantly lower during VR than CD, with mean RRT rising 26% from baseline in VR versus 60% in CD (p < 0.001). Training order did not affect cognitive load in either modality, and RRT increased progressively throughout mastoidectomy in both VR and CD. Participants who began with VR achieved significantly higher cadaveric performance scores than those who began with CD (mean 9.50 vs. 4.96; p < 0.001), and inter-rater reliability for performance scoring was high.
conclusionVR mastoidectomy reduces cognitive load and enhances subsequent cadaveric performance in novice trainees, supporting its role as a cognitively optimized precadaver training modality that complements, rather than replaces, cadaveric dissection. These findings suggest VR enhances early learning efficiency and resource utilization in novice otolaryngology training. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.