NCT04612816

Live Stream of Ultrasound in Prehospital Medical Care

Live Stream of Emergency Ultrasound to Improve Diagnostics in Prehospital Medical Care: a Feasibility Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 25 (actual)
• Sponsor: Medical University of Vienna · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 116 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Prehospital emergency ultrasound (PEU) is being increasingly used in different preclinical emergency systems across the world. Ultrasound examinations in emergency situations, however, remain challenging even in the hospital setting despite the availability of standardized approaches such as Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST). Preclinical circumstances further complicate the adequate execution of an additional diagnostic tool such as PEU on the scene or inside a medical emergency vehicle. Furthermore, rapid translation of ultrasound findings into meaningful therapeutic consequences is considerably demanding in an environment of limited resources. If focused PEU is correctly used and patients' condition allows emergency doctors a careful ultrasound examination, it is possible to differentiate life-threatening diagnoses. PEU should be implemented in the management of emergency patients affected by trauma, cardiac arrest/shock or respiratory problems. To date it is unclear whether PEU results in improved outcome. Some emergency cases present difficult challenges in the prehospital ultrasound examination. Portable devices designed for PEU suggest the possibility of increasing the use of ultrasound "in the field". However, to the investigator's knowledge, opportunities for real-time consultation with a second specialist including live transmission of the ultrasound picture are not being provided at any preclinical emergency facility.

Detailed description

Aim 1: Feasibility of real time prehospital emergency ultrasound (PEU) transmission in a university affiliated preclinical emergency system. Aim 2: Identify obstacles for PEU transmission including a real time consultation of an ultrasound expert. Hypothesis: We expect that live streaming of emergency ultrasound images in order to allow a second opinion could improve diagnostics of life threatening conditions and help us to improve patients' safety by digital health. The use of PEU is feasible and safe.

Conditions

• Ultrasound

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Prehospital ultrasound	Feasibility of real time PEU transmission in a university affiliated preclinical emergency system.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-10-19
• Primary completion: 2021-08-31
• Completion: 2021-08-31
• First posted: 2020-11-03
• Last updated: 2021-09-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Austria