Pocket-size Ultrasound by Nurses in Cardiothoracic Post-operative Patients

Feasibility and Reliability of Routine Ultrasound Examination Performed by Nurses in Cardiothoracic Post-operative Patients

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01847859

Enrollment

Registered

2013-05-07

Start date

2013-05-31

Completion date

2013-12-31

Last updated

2021-11-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Keywords

Cardiothoracic surgery, Post-operative, Nurses, Cardiac, Echocardiography, Pocket-size, Hand-held

Brief summary

The investigators aim to study the feasibility and reliability of pocket-size diagnostic ultrasound examinations performed by nurses of postoperative patients who have underwent cardiothoracic surgery in a cardiac unit.

Detailed description

Patient inclusion: Post-operative cardiothoracic surgery patients transferred to a cardiac unit. All such patients are eligible for inclusion if they consent to participate in the study. No other exclusion criteria other than not willing/able to give their consent. Only postoperative patients will be included. Study population: Approximately 50 patients Intervention: All participants will undergo careful medical history, physical examination and blood tests led by residents. All patients will routinely be examined with ultrasound by nurses trained in ultrasound examinations of the pleural space and the pericardium and a complete high-end echocardiography including assessment of both pleural cavities and the pericardial space will be performed in all by cardiologists. Statistics and results: Feasibility and reliability will be studied.

Interventions

PROCEDUREUltrasound examination by nurses

Focused examination of the pleural space and inferior vena cava.Reference method: Cardiologists performed ultrasound examinations.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Post-operative cardiothoracic patients admitted to the cardiac unit at the local hospital

Exclusion criteria

* Not able or not willing to consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Feasibility and reliability	0 days	Feasibility: Proportion of patients where the pleural and pericardial cavitis can be assessed and interpreted by ultrasound performed by nurses compared with cardiologists.
Reliability	0 days	Validation of ultrasound examinations and interpretation of the pleural and pericardial cavities by nurses compared with cardiologists as reference.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Time use	0 days	Comparison of the time use of ultrasound examinations of the pleural and pericardial cavities when examinations are performed by nurses and cardiologists, respectively.

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Clinical impact	0 days and 30 days	Clinical influence of detection/assessment of pleural and pericardial effusion by ultrasound.

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026