Feasibility of video-based skill assessment for percutaneous nephrostomy
training in Senegal
Abstract
Background: Percutaneous nephrostomy can be an effective means of
preventing irreparable renal damage from obstructive renal disease
thereby providing patients with more time to access treatment to remove
the source of the blockage. In sub-Saharan Africa, where there is
limited access to treatments such as dialysis and transplantation, a
nephrostomy can be life-saving. Training this procedure in simulation
can allow trainees to develop their technical skills without risking
patient safety, but still requires an ex-pert observer to provide
performative feedback. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of
using video as an accessible method to assess skill in simulated
percutaneous nephrostomy. Methods: Six novice urology residents and six
expert urologists from Ouakam Military Hospital in Dakar, Senegal
performed 4 nephrostomies each using our setup. We computed motion-based
metrics for each trial from the predicted bounding boxes of a trained
object detection network and compared these metrics between novices and
experts. Results: We were able to measure significant differences in
both ultrasound and needle handling between novice and expert
participants. Additionally, we could measure performance changes within
each group over multiple trials. Conclusions: Video-based skill
assessment is a feasible and accessible option for providing trainees
with quantitative feedback in sub-Saharan Africa.