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. 2025 May 17:16:801-809.
doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S516071. eCollection 2025.

Teaching Neonatal Emergency Umbilical Venous Access to Untrained Medical Staff: A Pilot Study Using Video Instruction and Real Umbilical Cords

Christian Brickmann  1   2 , Fanny Carlotta Zang  3 , Daniel Klotz  4 , Mirjam Kunze  5 , Roland Hentschel  6
Affiliations

Teaching Neonatal Emergency Umbilical Venous Access to Untrained Medical Staff: A Pilot Study Using Video Instruction and Real Umbilical Cords

Christian Brickmann et al. Adv Med Educ Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Establishing intravenous access in newborns in an emergency situation is a challenge even for well-trained neonatologists. As not all hospitals have a neonatology department, other specialists such as anaesthesiologists and obstetricians must also be able to quickly establishing venous access. Consequently, there is a need for teaching strategies that can be used for a large group of people.

Aim: To evaluate the applicability and the acceptance of a teaching method for umbilical venous access that can be implemented in hospitals with obstetric departments following the principles of simulation-based learning.

Methods: Single-center cross-over pilot-study with video-based teaching of medical students using a model with fresh umbilical cords. The volunteers performed three techniques: standard umbilical cord cut - umbilical button cannula (S-EUC), lateral incision - umbilical button cannula (L-EUC) and standard umbilical cord cut - umbilical catheter (S-UC). Participants' acceptance of the teaching method was evaluated using Likert-scale.

Results: The video teaching was considered as easy to learn and understand for all three techniques. After practicing on the model, most participants believed that they could successfully apply at least one of the techniques if faced with a real emergency situation. Subjects were able to perform the techniques in similar timescales to those published in the literature for the standard technique (S-UC).

Conclusion: The teaching method combining video learning and practical training on real umbilical cords, is suitable for teaching venous access in newborns even for untrained personnel. The model can be replicated using materials every obstetrics department has at hand.

Keywords: medical teaching; newborn resuscitation; simulation-based teaching; umbilical cord; umbilical vein; video teaching.

Plain language summary

This study was conducted to improve how medical staff learn to perform emergency procedures on newborns, specifically umbilical venous access. This procedure is crucial in emergencies but is rarely needed, making it hard to practice. The researchers wanted to create a teaching method that is easy to use and does not require a lot of resources. They used real umbilical cords to create a realistic training model and conducted explicit teaching videos for every technique. Medical students watched these instructional videos to learn the procedure. Students practiced the procedure using the model. The researchers found that the video teaching method was effective. Students felt prepared to handle real emergencies. One technique, called S-EUC, was the fastest and most successful. The teaching model and the video-based approach is cost-effective and can be used in hospitals with limited resources. These results mean that hospitals can adopt this teaching method to better prepare their staff for neonatal emergencies. The study suggests that using video instruction and real umbilical cords is a practical way to teach important medical skills. This approach could lead to faster and more successful emergency care for newborns.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental Setup. (A) Umbilical cord after retrograde filling of the umbilical vein with dye. (B) Study equipment used in each of the three parts of the experiment: umbilical cord string, forceps (2x), scalpel, emergency button cannula and umbilical catheter (from left to right). (C) Final umbilical cord set-up.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Time to success to implement the cannula correctly and comparison of mean CI values between the different techniques.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Preferred technique as stated by the participants in the questionnaire. Pie charts for the whole group (n=45) (top) and for the 3 different rotation groups (n=15 each) in columns (bottom). (A) Preferred technique if emergency access required in the event of an emergency (B) Favoured device after testing all three techniques. (C) Favoured intersection technique after testing all three techniques.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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