Use of Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation test to predict practical performance of rhinosinus endoscopy

Introduction and Aim: The aim of this work is to assess the predictive value of the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT) on performance of novice medical student for manipulation of a nasal endoscope on a cadaveric model.

Material and Methods: We randomly selected 39 medical students who had never handled a nasal endoscope and subjected them to the MRT. They were then asked to perform series of cadaveric model exercises using a nasal endoscope. Two judges, using the Lindquist’s scale, evaluated their performance on cadavers. They were also asked to fill in a questionnaire aimed at defining their general profile (personal experience with manual activities and medical manual activities, surgical tropism, etc.) and an anatomic test in order to exclude possible confounding factors.

Results: We found that medical students with higher mental rotation skills had significantly increased endoscopic sinus performance (p=0.0251 using univariate regression, and p=0.0002 using multivariate regression adjusted for specialty choice, previous surgical exposure and anatomy knowledge). Higher anatomy knowledge was also associated with better endoscopic sinus performance (p=0.0141). Other parameters had no impact on endoscopic sinus performance measured by the endoscopic scale (p>0.005).

Conclusion: The score obtained on the MRT is correlated to the practical performance of manipulating the nasal endoscope in surgery. It could therefore be a useful spatial ability tool for educational purposes for candidates specializing in rhinology.