Abstract
Objective This study tested the effectiveness of a video teaching tool in improving identification
and classification of encephalopathy in infants.
Study Design We developed an innovative video teaching tool to help clinicians improve their skills
in interpreting the neonatal neurological examination for grading encephalopathy.
Pediatric residents were shown 1-minute video clips demonstrating exam findings in
normal neonates and neonates with various degrees of encephalopathy. Findings from
five domains were demonstrated: spontaneous activity, level of alertness, posture/tone,
reflexes, and autonomic responses. After each clip, subjects were asked to identify
whether the exam finding was normal or consistent with mild, moderate, or severe abnormality.
Subjects were then directed to a web-based teaching toolkit, containing a compilation
of videos demonstrating normal and abnormal findings on the neonatal neurological
examination. Immediately after training, subjects underwent posttesting, again identifying
exam findings as normal, mild, moderate, or severe abnormality.
Results Residents improved in their overall ability to identify and classify neonatal encephalopathy
after viewing the teaching tool. In particular, the identification of abnormal spontaneous
activity, reflexes, and autonomic responses were most improved.
Conclusion This pretest/posttest evaluation of an educational tool demonstrates that after viewing
our toolkit, pediatric residents were able to improve their overall ability to detect
neonatal encephalopathy.
Keywords
neonatal encephalopathy - online teaching tool - neurological examination
