NCT05668611

Train the Trainer Curriculum to Scale up AI Supported Echo for RHD Screening in a Public Health System

Design and Evaluation of a Train the Trainer Curriculum to Scale Up Automated Intelligence Supported Echocardiography for Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening in a Public Health Care System

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,628 (actual)
• Sponsor: Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 5 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The first primary objective of this study is to determine the diagnostic performance (sensitivity and specificity) of primary MOH nurses who have completed certification in focused echocardiography acquisition and interpretation by expert trainers to accurately identify patients who are screen positive and screen negative for rheumatic heart disease. The second primary objective is to determine the diagnostic performance (sensitivity and specificity) of secondary MOH nurses who have completed certification in focused echocardiography acquisition and interpretation by MOH nurse trainers to accurately identify patients who are screen positive and screen negative for rheumatic heart disease.

Detailed description

Objective 1: 4 ultrasound naïve nurses (Primary) employed at the HCIII/IVs participating in ADD-RHD Part 1 (SOMREC REF 2021-61) in Lira, will be trained and certified by experts in echocardiography for RHD on focused RHD echocardiographic screening examination and interpretation using a novel AI guided software. Focused RHD screening echocardiograms by the 4 nurses will be integrated into routine clinical practice at their assigned HCIII/IVs for 1 month. Screen positive patients will be referred to LRRH for confirmatory echocardiogram using a Standard echocardiographic machine under the National RHD registry (SOMREC REF 2014-137). All echocardiograms will be uploaded to a secure cloud-based server and over-read by a cardiologist with in one - two (1 - 2) weeks to ensure patient safety and to determine trainee performance. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values will be calculated. 4 MOH trainees will use pre-recorded PowerPoint presentations to conduct hands-on training for phase 2 (secondary) nurses. Objective 2: Similar to Phase 1 with just a few exceptions. 12 MOH nurses will be trained and certified by MOH nurse trainers from phase 1 to acquire and interpret RHD focused screening echocardiograms using a novel AI guided software. Screening will be integrated into routine care for 2 months and diagnostic performance assessed.

Conditions

• Rheumatic Heart Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Primary Training Phase	A four-day training program taken over the course of two weekends will include materials on RHD and RHD echocardiographic screening using focused artificial intelligence navigational guided echocardiographic acquisition to identify patients who are screen positive or screen negative for RHD. The echo protocol will be limited to the parasternal long axis-view (2D and color Doppler) focusing on mitral and aortic valve morphology and function and a single 2D apical 4 chamber view for auto EF. The curriculum package will include online modules, instructor delivered PowerPoint presentations, and hands on practice on volunteers with and without RHD.
OTHER	Primary Assessment Phase	A pre- and post-training test on RHD knowledge and diagnosis will be administered. A rapid competency assessment, including obtaining imaging on volunteers with or without RHD and an online test with pre-recorded cases of RHD, LV dysfunction and Pericardial effusions, will be utilized at the end of the 4-day training sessions. Trainees will be monitored by trained study personnel and at the end of the practicum training, the expert users will blindly review and assess the quality of each study using the standardized scale and competency scorecard provided below. Additionally, they will be asked to pass the knowledge quiz (80% or better). If competency is not achieved, an additional weekend of training can be added.
OTHER	Primary Screening Phase	Following certification, the certified MOH nurses will integrate echocardiographic screening into the routine workflow at the 4 HCIII/IV clinics with each nurse carrying out screening at the assigned HC on patients (aged 5-40) presenting to the health center for routine care. Screening will be done daily over a period of one month. A minimum total of 400 participants will be screened during this period; each nurse will screen as many patients as they can, with a minimum of 100 participants (at least 5 participants per day). At the end of each screen, the trainees will interpret the screen as screen negative or screen positive. They will go ahead to refer participants identified as screen positives to the district hospital (LRRH) for a confirmatory echo. At the end of each screening day, all images will be uploaded to a cloud server for a confirmatory review by a cardiology fellow or cardiology attending physician, within in 1 - 2 weeks.
OTHER	Secondary Training Phase	Each Primary Trained MOH Nurse will train 3 other nurses from their Health Center using pre-recorded PowerPoints.
OTHER	Secondary Assessment Phase	The secondarily trained nurses will be assessed and certified by the nurse trainer.
OTHER	Secondary Screening Phase	Following certification, the certified MOH nurses will integrate echocardiographic screening into the routine workflow at the 4 HCIII/IV clinics with each nurse carrying out screening at the assigned HC on patients (aged 5-40) presenting to the health center for routine care. Screening will be done daily over a period of two months. A minimum total of 1200 participants will be screened during this period; each nurse will screen as many patients as they can, with a minimum of 100 participants. At the end of each screen, the trainees will interpret the study as screen negative or screen positive. They will go ahead to refer participants identified as screen positives to the district hospital (LRRH) for a confirmatory echo. At the end of each screening day, all images will be uploaded to a cloud server for a confirmatory review by a cardiology fellow or cardiology attending physician, within in 1 - 2 weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-01-03
• Primary completion: 2023-12-20
• Completion: 2023-12-20
• First posted: 2022-12-30
• Last updated: 2024-02-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Uganda