None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
A multicentre, randomised parallel group, open superiority trial. 900 patients 65 years old or older admitted to the general medicine ward with a primary presentation of dyspnoea will be allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive a) usual care or b) usual care and POCUS of the heart, lungs and proximal lower limb veins, performed within 24 hours of ward admission. The main outcome assessed in length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes include dyspnoea improvement, mortality and major adverse cardiovascular (MACE) measure at day 30 and 1 year
Interventions
Point of care ultrasound of the heart, lungs, and proximal lower limb veins will be performed once by a physician within the first 24 hours of hospital admission. The examination takes approximately 15 minutes on average and involves the use of a portable ultrasound machine with acoustic gel. The ultrasound transducer is placed over the patient’s chest, posterior thorax, and proximal lower limbs to obtain the required views. A structured report of the examination will be collected to assess adhe
Point of care ultrasound of the heart, lungs, and proximal lower limb veins will be performed once by a physician within the first 24 hours of hospital admission. The examination takes approximately 15 minutes on average and involves the use of a portable ultrasound machine with acoustic gel. The ultrasound transducer is placed over the patient’s chest, posterior thorax, and proximal lower limbs to obtain the required views. A structured report of the examination will be collected to assess adherence to the intervention protocol.
Sponsors
Melbourne health
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Adults aged 65 years or older who are admitted to the internal medicine ward where the primary symptom leading to admission is dyspnoea regardless of the initial medical diagnosis (e.g decompensated heart failure, pneumonia, asthma)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria include having a computed tomography chest or CT pulmonary angiogram, point of care ultrasound performed by emergency physicians, being admitted to the ward more than 24 hours ago, or where death is expected within 48-hour.
Outcome results
None listed