26rhk280 10.3205/26rhk280 urn:nbn:de:0183-26rhk2808 Meeting Abstract Reisch Reisch Myriam M

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Kickinger Kickinger David D

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Ugena-García Ugena-García Raquel R

Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Rheumatologie, Barcelona, Spain

author Bischof Bischof Lea L

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Schuh Schuh Bernhard B

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Bosch Bosch Philipp P

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Panagiotopoulos Panagiotopoulos Alexandros A

Laiko Hospital Athens, Rheumatology Unit, Athens, Greece

author Ilgen Ilgen Ufuk U

Mersin University Hospital, Departement of Rheumatology, Mersin, Türkei

author Thiel Thiel Jens J

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author Dejaco Dejaco Christian C

Medizinische Universität Graz, Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Graz, Österreich

author German Medical Science GMS Publishing House

Düsseldorf

610 20260909 engl This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). M0656 280 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie Deutsche Gesellschaft für Orthopädische Rheumatologie Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendrheumatologie 54. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie und Klinische Immunologie (DGRh), 36. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendrheumatologie (GKJR), 40. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orthopädische Rheumatologie (DGORh) Deutscher Rheumatologiekongress 2026 Verschiedenes Leipzig 20260909 20260912 VS.10 TextIntroduction: Contemporary medical education increasingly emphasizes applied learning, critical thinking, and learner-centered, interactive formats. Escape Rooms, team-based scenarios requiring collaborative problem-solving, have emerged as innovative educational tools. In medical education, they can foster both technical and non-technical competencies, including clinical reasoning, communication, teamwork, and creative thinking. Building on prior work demonstrating their value in rheumatology education, we developed a specialized Escape Room to deliver core content in an engaging, application-oriented format. To evaluate knowledge acquisition among participants of a rheumatology Escape Room conducted at the EULAR Congress 2025.Methods: At the EULAR Congress 2025 in Barcelona, a rheumatology-themed Escape Room covering key clinical topics and multiple difficulty levels was offered. Each 90-minute session included a 15-minute introduction and was conducted 14 times. Participation was open to all attendees without eligibility criteria, with on-site registration. Participants solved puzzles requiring application of rheumatological knowledge, analytical reasoning, and teamwork, addressing disease mechanisms, therapeutic principles, and assessment tools. Knowledge acquisition was assessed using a 10-item questionnaire administered immediately before and after participation via an online survey. Changes in performance were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests (SPSS v29).Results: Sixty-three participants from 19 countries were included (mean age 37 years [range 27–63], 69.8% female). Professional backgrounds comprised medical doctors (74.3%), pharmaceutical industry representatives (9.5%), healthcare professionals (6.3%), basic scientists (3.2%), students (3.2%), and others (3.2%). The mean number of correct responses increased from 6.3/10 (SD 2.2) pre-intervention to 7.9/10 (SD 1.7) post-intervention (p < 0.001), indicating a significant overall knowledge gain. Improvements were observed across all professional groups.Conclusion: The rheumatology Escape Room is a well-received and effective complement to traditional educational formats, offering an engaging, team-based learning environment. Participants demonstrated significant short-term knowledge gains across diverse professional backgrounds, suggesting that this approach is inclusive and suitable for learners with heterogeneous baseline expertise.Disclosure of interest: None declaredTable 1 11

Table 1: Number of correct answers (out of 10) before and after Escape Room (mean values)

1 0 0 0