Difficult AirwayMERITNCT07625072
Mental Rehearsal in Emergency Cricothyroidotomy Training
A study testing Mental Training in people with Difficult Airway and Medical Training, run by Medical University of Warsaw at 1 site in Poland.
Trial summary
Medical staff at the clinic will participate in standard cricothyroidotomy training supplemented with structured mental rehearsal exercises in order to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of this approach as a training tool. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Difficult Airway, Medical Training, Airway Management
- What is being tested?
- Mental Training
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 1 sitePoland
- Study dates
- 8 Jun 2026to 1 May 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Medical personnel, including anesthesiology and intensive care specialists, residents, and nursing staff employed within Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Departments of the Medical University of Warsaw network.
- No prior experience with the use of Mental Rehearsal techniques in performing emergency cricothyroidotomy.
- Informed consent.
Who cannot join
- Medical personnel involved in the training process of study participants in emergency cricothyroidotomy, including instructors, assisting staff, and examiners.
- Previous experience with the use of Mental Rehearsal techniques for acquiring competencies in performing emergency cricothyroidotomy.
- Lack of informed consent.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Effect of Mental Rehearsal Training on the Effectiveness of Emergency Cricothyroidotomy Training Among Medical Personnel.
Medical staff at the clinic will participate in standard cricothyroidotomy training supplemented with structured mental rehearsal exercises in order to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of this approach as a training tool.
Read the detailed description
Mental rehearsal (MR) is a training method widely used to improve manual skills, psychomotor coordination, and performance under stressful conditions. It has been successfully applied in fields such as sports, music, military training, rehabilitation, and surgery. MR involves mentally visualizing and rehearsing the sequence of movements required to perform a specific task, which may contribute to the development of procedural automatization and "muscle memory." Neurophysiological studies suggest that imagined movements activate neural pathways similar to those engaged during actual motor performance.
Emergency cricothyroidotomy (eFONA - Emergency Front of Neck Access) is a rare but life-saving procedure performed when airway management cannot be achieved using less invasive methods such as endotracheal intubation. The procedure requires rapid identification of anatomical landmarks, technical precision, and efficient execution under significant time pressure and stress. Because opportunities for real-life performance are limited, regular and effective training of medical personnel is essential.
Aim: Evaluation whether the integration of structured mental rehearsal (MR) into routine emergency cricothyroidotomy training can improve procedural preparedness, technical performance, and confidence among medical personnel, as well as to assess the usefulness of MR as a supplementary training tool for emergency airway management.
Methodological information: This prospective, randomized educational study will include up to 60 medical personnel from the UCK WUM anaesthesiology and intensive care. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to either structured mental rehearsal plus standard emergency cricothyroidotomy training or standard training alone.
Randomization will be computer-generated and stratified by professional subgroup to ensure balanced allocation of specialist physicians, resident physicians, and nurses. The planned sample includes 30 participants per group: 20 specialists, 20 residents, and 20 nurses in total.
Sample size was estimated a priori using G*Power. Assuming an effect size of 0.80, alpha of 0.05, and power of 0.80, at least 26 participants per group are required; therefore, 30 per group will be recruited to account for potential incomplete data.
- Being tested
- Mental Training
- Keywords
- Mental Rehearsal, Mental Training, eFONA (Emergency Front of Neck Airway), Cricothyroidotomy, Airway Management, Critical care
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Mental TrainingOther
Structured mental rehearsal exercises integrated into the routine educational program.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Routine Training + Mental Rehearsal | Experimental | Participants will undergo standard emergency cricothyrotomy training supplemented with structured mental rehearsal exercises integrated into the routine educational program Receives: Other: Mental Training |
| Routine Training | No intervention | Participants will undergo standard emergency cricothyrotomy training without additional mental rehearsal exercises |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
Participants' procedural performance will be assessed using a standardized Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The total score will be expressed as the percentage of correctly performed procedural steps. Scores range from 0% to 100%, with higher scores indicating better procedural performance.
Measured: 6 months after enrollment
Secondary outcomes (2)
Procedure completion time
Time required to complete the cricothyrotomy procedure during the practical examination. Time will be recorded in seconds from initiation to completion of the procedure.
Measured: 6 months after entrollment
Self-assessed procedural competencies and perceived stress during cricothyroidotomy (individual questionnaire items).
Participants will complete an author-developed questionnaire following completion of the training program. The questionnaire consists of individual items assessing perceived procedural competence and stress related to performing cricothyrotomy. Selected items are rated on a 10-point Likert-type scale (1-10). For competence-related items, higher scores indicate better perceived competence (10 = highest competence). For stress-related items, higher scores indicate greater perceived stress (10 = highest stress level). Each item will be analyzed and reported individually. No composite score will be calculated.
Measured: 6 months after enrollment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted4 Jun 2026
- Study start8 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion1 May 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion1 May 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Difficult AirwayStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Medical University of WarsawThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of Warsaw
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Agata Stężewska, MD, Principal investigator, Medical University of Warsaw
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07625072
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- KB/68/2026
- Acronym
- MERIT
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 19 May 2026
- Last updated
- 4 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 4 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effect of Mental Rehearsal Training on the Effectiveness of Emergency Cricothyroidotomy Training Among Medical Personnel.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07625072
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MERIT / KB/68/2026
- Keywords
- Mental Rehearsal, Mental Training, eFONA (Emergency Front of Neck Airway), Cricothyroidotomy, Airway Management, Critical care
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of WarsawUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 8 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 1 May 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 May 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 4 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Medical staff at the clinic will participate in standard cricothyroidotomy training supplemented with structured mental rehearsal exercises in order to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of this approach as a training tool.
Detailed description
Mental rehearsal (MR) is a training method widely used to improve manual skills, psychomotor coordination, and performance under stressful conditions. It has been successfully applied in fields such as sports, music, military training, rehabilitation, and surgery. MR involves mentally visualizing and rehearsing the sequence of movements required to perform a specific task, which may contribute to the development of procedural automatization and "muscle memory." Neurophysiological studies suggest that imagined movements activate neural pathways similar to those engaged during actual motor performance.
Emergency cricothyroidotomy (eFONA - Emergency Front of Neck Access) is a rare but life-saving procedure performed when airway management cannot be achieved using less invasive methods such as endotracheal intubation. The procedure requires rapid identification of anatomical landmarks, technical precision, and efficient execution under significant time pressure and stress. Because opportunities for real-life performance are limited, regular and effective training of medical personnel is essential.
Aim: Evaluation whether the integration of structured mental rehearsal (MR) into routine emergency cricothyroidotomy training can improve procedural preparedness, technical performance, and confidence among medical personnel, as well as to assess the usefulness of MR as a supplementary training tool for emergency airway management.
Methodological information: This prospective, randomized educational study will include up to 60 medical personnel from the UCK WUM anaesthesiology and intensive care. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to either structured mental rehearsal plus standard emergency cricothyroidotomy training or standard training alone.
Randomization will be computer-generated and stratified by professional subgroup to ensure balanced allocation of specialist physicians, resident physicians, and nurses. The planned sample includes 30 participants per group: 20 specialists, 20 residents, and 20 nurses in total.
Sample size was estimated a priori using G*Power. Assuming an effect size of 0.80, alpha of 0.05, and power of 0.80, at least 26 participants per group are required; therefore, 30 per group will be recruited to account for potential incomplete data.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Routine Training + Mental Rehearsal | Experimental | Other: Mental TrainingParticipants will undergo standard emergency cricothyrotomy training supplemented with structured mental rehearsal exercises integrated into the routine educational program |
| Routine Training | No intervention | –Participants will undergo standard emergency cricothyrotomy training without additional mental rehearsal exercises |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Medical personnel, including anesthesiology and intensive care specialists, residents, and nursing staff employed within Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Departments of the Medical University of Warsaw network.
- No prior experience with the use of Mental Rehearsal techniques in performing emergency cricothyroidotomy.
- Informed consent.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Medical personnel involved in the training process of study participants in emergency cricothyroidotomy, including instructors, assisting staff, and examiners.
- Previous experience with the use of Mental Rehearsal techniques for acquiring competencies in performing emergency cricothyroidotomy.
- Lack of informed consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Mental TrainingStructured mental rehearsal exercises integrated into the routine educational program. | Other | Routine Training + Mental Rehearsal |
Primary outcome
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
Time frame: 6 months after enrollment
Participants' procedural performance will be assessed using a standardized Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The total score will be expressed as the percentage of correctly performed procedural steps. Scores range from 0% to 100%, with higher scores indicating better procedural performance.
2 secondary outcomes
Procedure completion time
Time frame: 6 months after entrollment
Self-assessed procedural competencies and perceived stress during cricothyroidotomy (individual questionnaire items).
Time frame: 6 months after enrollment
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 4 Jun 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Agata Stężewska, MD principal investigator
Medical University of Warsaw
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Mental Training in people with Difficult Airway and Medical Training, run by Medical University of Warsaw at 1 site in Poland.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Poland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Agata Stężewska, MD (+48 882068582, agata.stezewska@uckwum.pl), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) (time frame: 6 months after enrollment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Jun 2026.