Effect of an education program for healthcare professionals focused on the detection and management of reverse triggering: Secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study

Introduction: Reverse triggering (RT) is a frequent type of patient-ventilator asynchrony (PVA). Despite the potential complications associated with this type of asynchrony, there is a scarcity of literature regarding the effects of training programs aimed at developing the necessary competencies among healthcare professionals to help them identify and resolve this type of PVA.Objective: To assess the effect on Chilean intensive care professionals of an education program specifically focusing on RT detection and management using ventilation graph analysis, both immediately as well as after 30 days.Methods: A secondary analysis based on the data used in a quasi-experimental study was conducted. The study applied an education program to improve detection and management of various types of PVA by healthcare staff working in critical care, using ventilation graph analysis. Assessments were conducted before (T0), immediately after (T1) a six-hour online session, and 30 days later (T2). Information from the questions designed to identify the ability to recognize and resolve RT was extracted.Results: In total, 49 healthcare professionals were included, 94% of them physical therapists, with a mean experience of three years (IQR 0.9 to 4). At T0, 20% answered the three questions correctly, with a significant increase at T1 (73.47%) and at T2 (69.39%) (p < 0.001).Conclusions: In Chile, attending a specific education program focused on PVA recognition and resolution could result in an improved ability among critical care staff to identify and resolve RT based on ventilation graph analysis.