Cough, Dyspnea, Wheezing
Conditions
Keywords
Emergency Departments, Chest, Lung, Cough, Dyspnea, Wheezing, Ultrasound, Ultrasonography
Brief summary
Acute dyspnea (shortness of breath) is a common complaint for patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). The chest radiograph (CXR) has been the mainstay in evaluating patients with shortness of breath and often provides the timely diagnosis of pneumonia, pneumothorax, pulmonary edema, among other primary diseases of the lung. There are limitations with chest radiograph such as large body mass (e.g, obesity) and patient positioning. On occasion, chest radiography findings are difficult to interpret. Lung ultrasonography may offer a means of clarifying ambiguous results. The objective of this study to determine the usefulness of point of care lung ultrasound in evaluating patients presenting to the ED with shortness of breath, cough and/or wheezing.
Detailed description
Acute dyspnea (shortness of breath) is a common complaint for patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). The chest radiograph (CXR) has been the mainstay in evaluating patients with shortness of breath and often provides the timely diagnosis of pneumonia, pneumothorax, pulmonary edema, among other primary diseases of the lung. There are limitations with chest radiograph such as large body mass (e.g, obesity) and patient positioning. On occasion, chest radiography findings are difficult to interpret. Lung ultrasonography may offer a means of clarifying ambiguous results. Advantages of ultrasound include real-time immediate evaluation, it is non-invasive and does not use radiation. The investigators seek to perform a prospective evaluation of patients presenting to the University of Washington Medical Center ED for cough, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. The objective of this study to determine the usefulness of point of care lung ultrasound in evaluating patients presenting to the ED with shortness of breath, cough and/or wheezing. The specific aim of this study is to further define the utility of point-of-care ultrasound in the evaluation of emergency department patients presenting with cough, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. The investigators will compare ultrasound results to radiograph and tomography results when available, and to the physicians initial impression.
Interventions
DEVICENuvis Diagnostic Ultrasound System
Ultrasound of the chest
Sponsors
Philips Healthcare
University of Washington
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Presenting to the Emergency Department with cough, wheezing and/or dyspnea (shortness of breath) * Referred for CXR and/or CT scan
Exclusion criteria
* Life threatening medical condition requiring immediate treatment * Unable to sit up for a chest ultrasound * Unable to consent * Pregnant * Unable to speak, read and write in English
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| B-lines on chest ultrasound as a predictor of pulmonary edema and/or pneumonia | Up to 1 week | Results from the study ultrasound will be correlated with other imaging results and the emergency physicians initial impression. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed