Neonatal resuscitation may require urgent umbilical venous catheter (UVC) placement. Complications can be observed with umbilical venous catheterization, especially in a stressful context. Inspired by the aeronautic environment, medical routine checklists, also called “cognitive aids,” secure the equipment and environment for the patients once they are admitted to the operating room. We hypothesized that reading a cognitive aid for UVC placement in the delivery room during neonatal resuscitation simulation scenarios can (a) improve the performance in reducing catheterization duration and (b) can limit complications.

This was a prospective single-center randomized study. A total of 23 dyads for a simulation scenario were included: 12 in the control group and 11 in the cognitive aid group. In the cognitive aid group, the cognitive aid was read by the same facilitator for every scenario.

No significant difference concerning the duration of the procedure was identified between the cognitive aid and control groups: 412 s [342; 420] vs. 374 s [338;402], respectively (p = 0.781). Nevertheless, there were significantly fewer deviations from hygiene guidelines and improved prevention of air embolism in the cognitive aid group compared with the control group.

The UVC insertion time was similar between the control and cognitive aid groups. Moreover, cognitive aid can limit infectious complications or air embolism by allowing caregivers to follow UVC placement standards.