Assessment of a human cadaver model for training emergency medicine residents in the ultrasound diagnosis of pneumothorax.

<p><b>OBJECTIVES: </b>To assess a human cadaver model for training emergency medicine residents in the ultrasound diagnosis of pneumothorax.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>Single-blinded observational study using a human cadaveric model at an academic medical center. Three lightly embalmed cadavers were used to create three &quot;normal lungs&quot; and three lungs modeling a &quot;pneumothorax.&quot; The residents were blinded to the side and number of pneumothoraces, as well as to each other&#39;s findings. Each resident performed an ultrasound examination on all six lung models during ventilation of cadavers. They were evaluated on their ability to identify the presence or absence of the sliding-lung sign and seashore sign.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>A total of 84 ultrasound examinations (42-&quot;normal lung,&quot; 42-&quot;pneumothorax&quot;) were performed. A sliding-lung sign was accurately identified in 39 scans, and the seashore sign was accurately identified in 34 scans. The sensitivity and specificity for the sliding-lung sign were 93% (95% CI, 85-100%) and 90% (95% CI, 81-99%), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for the seashore sign were 80% (95% CI, 68-92%) and 83% (95% CI, 72-94%), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Lightly embalmed human cadavers may provide an excellent model for mimicking the sonographic appearance of pneumothorax.</p>