NCT05938790

Point of Care Ultrasound in Obstetric Triage

Handheld Point of Care Ultrasound in Obstetric Triage: A Cluster Study

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The research will find out if using portable ultrasound devices by nurses can make it quicker to get babies from 24 to 32 weeks on the doppler monitor.

Detailed description

In an acute obstetric unit such as labor and delivery triage, rapid determination of fetal status is crucial for optimal fetal outcomes. In most units, nursing staff holds the initial role of patient care for both mother and fetus. The expeditious and efficient application of external fetal monitoring (cEFM) acts as the cornerstone of fetal assessment in triage; however, factors such as early gestational age or maternal habitus may make an assessment with doppler alone challenging. The limited availability of physicians to assess with large, mobile bedside ultrasound units in these cases results in delays in care and decreases efficiency on the unit. Advanced ultrasound technology allows for the ready availability of point-of-care ultrasound devices using probes that connect to portable electronics through applications. Studies performed in low-resource and remote areas have demonstrated the utility of training nursing staff to perform point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS); however, the literature needs to include studies performed at major academic centers. The study aims are to determine if the utilization of handheld PUM by nursing staff, as an ancillary tool to assist with applying cEFM in early preterm pregnancies, leads to decreased delays in the successful application of cEFM. The Butterfly Portable Ultrasound Device will be used for this study, which is a PUM that is lightweight, ultraportable and generates quality images equal to or better than the current larger SonoSite devices available. Secondary outcomes will examine the need for physician exams with bedside portable SonoSite ultrasound to apply cEFM as well as time to bedside once a physician is called for evaluation with bedside SonoSite.

Conditions

• Ultrasound
• Fetal Monitoring

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Continuous Fetal Monitoring	Fetal doppler used to monitor fetal heart rate in triage
OTHER	Point of Care Handheld Ultrasound	Point of Care Handheld Ultrasound

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-10-26
• Primary completion: 2025-03-19
• Completion: 2025-03-19
• First posted: 2023-07-10
• Last updated: 2025-04-11