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The following is a summary of “Evaluation of the impact of short term manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) training program on trainees with varying prior surgical experience using international council of ophthalmology-ophthalmology surgical competency assessment rubrics (ICO-OSCAR),” published in the July 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Sankarananthan et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating the learning curve of manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) across 2 trainee groups with different levels of prior experience and assessing the effectiveness of the International Council of Ophthalmology-Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubrics (ICO-OSCAR) in objectively measuring surgical skill transfer.
They involved 95 trainees in MSICS and categorized them into 3 groups, including 1st-year residents, fellows, and external trainees. The surgical skill development was assessed over a 1-month MSICS training program using ICO-OSCAR. Each trainee conducted an average of 19 surgeries. The learning curve progress for each group was analyzed by reviewing mean scores across sets of 5 consecutive cases. Additionally, complications that occurred during the training were recorded.
The result showed 1,842 cases, including fellows and external trainees with prior MSICS experience, started with mean scores of 57.57 ± 16.16 and 56.86 ± 17.82, respectively. At the same time, the 1st-year residents began with a lower mean score of 45.91 (P=0.009). By the end of the training, the difference in mean scores between the 1st-year residents and the other groups significantly diminished. The most frequent complications among 1st-year residents were related to sclero-corneal tunnel construction. The external trainee group exhibited a statistically significant higher incidence of zonular dialysis.
Investigators concluded that ICO-OSCAR effectively evaluated MSICS training, with short-term, structured programs improving surgical skill transfer, especially for novice surgeons.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10792-024-03252-0
