A Novel Smartphone App to Support Learning and Maintaining Competency With Bier Blocks for Pediatric Forearm Fracture Reductions: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study

Background: Distal forearm fractures are among the most common injuries presenting to the pediatric emergency department (PED). Bier block (BB), or intravenous regional anesthesia, is a safe and effective alternative to procedural sedation for closed reduction of forearm fractures; it is associated with fewer adverse events, a shorter length of stay, and reduced costs. BB has long remained relatively underutilized; however, with an increasing emphasis on efficient resource use and patient-centered care, there is renewed interest in this technique.

Objective: Our tertiary PED recently became the first in Canada to successfully implement an active BB program. Subsequently, we developed a mobile BB smartphone app designed to support the sustained departmental use of BB. The app can be used for training and maintenance of competency and incorporates instructional material, as well as our institutional BB protocol, printable medication order sheets, and monitoring forms. The present report describes the development and functionality of the BB smartphone app.

Methods: We have described app development and content. App dissemination metrics will be tracked, and user feedback will be analyzed using a self-administered electronic survey. Additionally, app utilization in our PED will be compared with real-world clinical use of BB for fracture reductions.

Results: The first iteration of the BB app was launched in 2015, with the most recent update in September 2018. App metric tracking is planned for January 2020 until December 2021.

Conclusions: We have highlighted how the BB app serves as a paradigm of an educational tool designed not only for individual users but also for supporting the department-wide implementation and dissemination of a new technique. App dissemination and use metrics will be tracked and correlated with clinical use of BB in the PED.

International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/10363.