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Surgeons know that they don’t know about the safe use of surgical energy: an international study reveals that the knowledge gap persists

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A Correction to this article was published on 03 May 2023

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Abstract

Introduction

The rate of electrosurgery complications is 0.1–2.1%. More than 10 years ago, SAGES pioneered a well-structured educational program (FUSE) aimed to teach about the safe use of electrosurgery. This inspired the development of similar training programs around the globe. Still, the knowledge gap persists among surgeons, possibly due to the lack of judgment.

Aim

To investigate factors affecting the level of expertise in electrosurgical safety and their correlation with self-assessment scores among surgeons and surgical residents.

Materials and methods

We conducted an online survey consisting of 15 questions that could be thematically broken down into 5 blocks. We analyzed how the objective scores were correlated with the self-assessment scores, professional experience, past participation in training programs, and work at a teaching hospital.

Results

A total of 145 specialists took part in the survey, including 111 general surgeons and 34 s-year surgical residents from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kirgizia. Only 9 (8.1%) surgeons scored “excellent,” 32 (28.8%) scored “good,” and 56 (50.4%) scored “fair.” Of all surgical residents participating in the study, only 1 (2.9%) scored “excellent,” 9 (26.5%) scored “good,” and 11 (32.4%) scored “fair.” The test was failed by 14 surgeons (12.6%) and 13 (38.2%) residents. The difference between the trainees and the surgeons was statistically significant. Our multivariate logistic model identified 3 significant factors predisposing to successful performance on the test: past training in the safe use of electrosurgery, professional experience, and work at a teaching hospital. Of all study participants, those with no past training in the safe use of electrosurgery, and non-teaching surgeons were the most realistic about their competencies.

Conclusion

We have identified alarming gaps in the knowledge of electrosurgical safety among surgeons. Faculty staff and experienced surgeons scored higher, but past training was the most influential factor in improving knowledge of electrosurgical safety.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank engineers from EFA-MEDICA and the management of the MEDTOUCH educational portal for their help with the survey.

Funding

The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ostrovityanova st., 1, Moscow, 127434, Russia

    T. V. Nechay, K. M. Loban, E. R. Chechin, A. E. Tyagunov & A. V. Sazhin

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  1. T. V. Nechay
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  2. K. M. Loban
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  3. E. R. Chechin
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  4. A. E. Tyagunov
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Correspondence to K. M. Loban.

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Drs. T. V. Nechay, K. M. Loban, E. R. Chechin, A. E. Tyagunov, and A. V. Sazhin have no conflict of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Nechay, T.V., Loban, K.M., Chechin, E.R. et al. Surgeons know that they don’t know about the safe use of surgical energy: an international study reveals that the knowledge gap persists. Surg Endosc 37, 4673–4680 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-09936-5

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