The development of laparoscopic skills using virtual reality simulations: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND

Teaching based on virtual reality simulators in medicine has expanded in recent years due to the limitations of more traditional methods, especially for surgical procedures such as laparoscopy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To analyze the effects of using virtual reality simulations on the development of laparoscopic skills in medical students and physicians.

DATA SOURCES

The literature screening was done in April 2020 through Medline (PubMed), EMBASE and Database of the National Institute of Health.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Randomized clinical trials that subjected medical students and physicians to training in laparoscopic skills in virtual reality simulators.

STUDY APPRAISAL

Paired reviewers independently identified 1529 articles and included 7 trials that met the eligibility criteria.

FINDINGS

In all studies, participants that trained in virtual simulators showed improvements in laparoscopic skills, although the articles that also had a physical model training group did not show better performance of one model compared to the other.

LIMITATIONS

No article beyond 2015 met the eligibility criteria, and the analyzed simulators have different versions and models, which might impact the results.

CONCLUSION

Virtual reality simulators are useful educational tools, but do not show proven significant advantages over traditional models. The lack of standardization and a scarcity of articles makes comparative analysis between simulators difficult, requiring more research in the area, according to the model suggested in this review.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER

Registered by the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), identification code CRD42020176479.