The ExAC Trainer has been used in Hammerfest Hospital in Finnmark, the northernmost region of Norway. This part of the country is characterised by long distances between the hospitals and the different health specialities. The ability to train external aortic compression has been very useful, both in terms of applying new knowledge as well as to increase patient safety.
The maternity ward posted the experience on instagram and below is a report from gynecologist obstetrician Maarten Glas.
“In July and August 2023 we used the ExAC mannikin in Hammerfest- Finnmark and started training all gynecologists, midwives and most of our OBGYN nursing staff. After a short introduction with slides and explanation, everybody got a chance to practice.
I have introduced external aorta compression in my personal handling of PPH twenty years
ago. The feeling of the model is quite realistic and it is really great to have the indicator in the front panel of the mannikin which provides a feedback of the quality of the compression.
I am a MOET-course instructor and a global ALSO trainer and have provided emergency obstetrics courses countless times and in many countries. We always included aorta compression in these sessions but had to rely on a volunteer or often on my own aorta to practice. The ExAC model is a true improvement.
We had a recent case of severe haemorrhage and shock during caesarean section with a placenta previa and increta in a multiply scarred uterus. Aorta compression really made a difference during this surgery and this caught the attention of our operation theatre staff and anesthesiologists. Afterwards they all requested an opportunity to practice and so we organized a similar training session for them.
Our general surgeons were interested and I got the opportunity to give a lecture and training session for their whole staff as well. We had a discussion on the possible applications in trauma patients like pelvic or femur fractures.
In Alta, at about 2,5 hours drive from Hammerfest Hospital, is an excellent obstetric ward,
managed by midwives, where normal and low risk deliveries take place. For complications and operative obstetric procedures however, they depend on transport and referral to Hammerfest. In case of emergency this is mostly done by medical planes but that still takes some time. Aorta compression is a valuable tool in keeping PPH under control under these circumstances, so in August we trained all available midwives there too.
The remaining request for practice and training is from our ambulance medical staff and we will meet at the end of August, after which we will (with bleeding heart) send the mannikin back to ExAC. It has been a valuable tool for introduction, discussion, teaching and training. I recommend all obstetric services and especially all obstetric training institutions to adopt and introduce the model in their future training programs.”
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