Impacto de la Simulación Virtual Avanzada y Modelos 3D de Bajo Costo en la Adquisición de Habilidades de Broncoscopia en Estudiantes de Medicina de Pregrado

Abstract

Bronchoscopy is an essential skill for specialists in intensive care and pulmonology, used for the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. Traditionally, its learning has been based on practice with patients, presenting ethical and logistical challenges. This study compares the effectiveness of the disposable bronchoscope with the EndoSim virtual simulator in teaching bronchoscopy. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 3D model and the EndoSim simulator 2 in improving bronchoscopy skills in medical students. Method: A total of 68 medical students participated, who were assessed before and after training on both devices. The time taken to identify bronchopulmonary segments was measured, and variables of anatomical knowledge and navigation skills were evaluated. Results: Identification times significantly improved in the post-test for both devices, with (p < 0.0001) in multiple segments. Accuracy in identifying difficult segments increased, reaching levels close to 100% in the post-test. Improvements in body posture, hand position, and equipment safety were also significant, with increases from 55.9% to 80.9% in correct posture, from 16.2% to 79.4% in correct hand position, and from 22.1% to 60.3% in equipment safety. Conclusions: Training with the EndoSim and 3D simulator is highly effective in improving bronchoscopy skills in medical students, significantly enhancing both the speed and accuracy of bronchopulmonary segment identification, as well as critical variables of posture and equipment safety.