Evaluation of the Educational Effect of the Universal Stylet Bougie Before and After a Brief Instructional Video Among Air Medical Clinicians.

OBJECTIVE

Endotracheal intubation requires high rates of first-pass success (FPS) to avoid complications. The Universal Stylet Bougie (USB) is a hybrid airway adjunct designed to function as a stylet and a bougie. We aimed to evaluate the usability and educational burden of the USB by evaluating FPS rates and intubation times among flight clinicians in a simulated setting.

METHODS

A total of 24 flight clinicians participated. Each performed 4 intubations on a difficult airway mannequin using the USB in both stylet and bougie configurations before and after viewing a 2-minute instructional video. FPS and time to intubation (TTI) were compared for each configuration before and after instruction using univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

Clinicians achieved 100% FPS across all attempts. The instructional video led to a decrease in TTI for both configurations. When used as a stylet, the median TTI decreased from 26.59 seconds (interquartile range [IQR]: 21.72-37.88) to 22.28 (IQR: 17.69-27.44; P = .006). When used as a bougie, the median TTI decreased from 31.96 seconds (IQR: 26.39-40.37) to 28.95 seconds (IQR: 24.01-38.24; P = .05), also demonstrating a significant reduction.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest the USB is easy to use with minimal instruction in a simulated environment. A brief instructional video reduced intubation times in both bougie and stylet configurations. Findings are limited by small sample size and simulation-based design and are influenced by repetition bias. There is a strong indication for future studies to evaluate education retention, direct device comparisons, and patient-centered outcomes to further evaluate safety, efficacy, and clinical utility in prehospital airway management.