Abstract Rationale Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Accurate clinical staging in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is essential for prognostication and treatment planning. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has replaced mediastinoscopy as the standard staging modality due to its minimally invasive nature and high diagnostic yield. Combining EBUS with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) increases sensitivity compared to EBUS alone, enabling access to nodal stations and structures not reachable from the airway. Pulmonologists can perform EUS using a dedicated scope or via the EBUS bronchoscope (EUS-B), but adoption is limited by the absence of formal curricula and simulators. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of cadaver-based EUS-B training for pulmonary fellows, focusing on improvements in knowledge, anatomical landmark recognition, and procedural competency. Methods 4 pulmonary and critical care fellows (second and third years) at a tertiary academic center participated. The fellows had 15 supervised EBUS procedures. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. A one-day workshop with two Thiel-embalmed human cadavers and an Olympus BF-UC180F EBUS bronchoscope with a 19G TBNA needle was held. Pre-training, fellows completed a 15-question knowledge test and attempted unsupervised identification of key landmarks (liver, aorta, pulmonary arteries, left atrium, lymph node stations 4L two weeks later, a post-training knowledge test was administered. Results The knowledge assessment scores improved from 12.8 ± 1.3 to 14 ± 1.2. Substantial gains occurred across all landmarks. For example, the scores improved from 2.8 ± 1.7 to 4.5 ± 1 for the aorta, 1.5 ± 0.8 to 4.8 ± 0.5 for pulmonary arteries, and 2.75 ± 1.7 to 4.3 ± 0.8 for station 4L. Trainees rated the usefulness of the workshop for pulmonary fellows at 4.3 ± 0.8 and likelihood to incorporate EUS-B into practice at 4.0 ± 1.2. Conclusions Cadaver-based EUS-B training is a practical, high-fidelity approach for enhancing pulmonary fellows’ knowledge and technical skills in lung cancer staging. Significant improvements in both cognitive and procedural skills were observed after a single structured session. This training model addresses the gap in formal EUS-B education, supports procedural autonomy, and may improve staging efficiency and accuracy in NSCLC. Future direction includes curriculum standardization, validated assessment tools, and incorporation of multimodal learning strategies to optimize clinical impact. This abstract is funded by: Academy of Teaching Scholars, OU
Parmar et al. (Fri,) studied this question.