Emergency Department Assessment of Right Ventricular Function and Size in the Post Cardiac Arrest Patient

August 18, 2025 updated by: Tomislav Jelic, University of Manitoba
The right side of the heart of often overlooked in patients who are acutely unwell, as the main area of focus when performing echocardiography tends to be the left ventricle. The right ventricle can yield important diagnostic clues that can aid the clinician, particularly in cases where one may suspect elevated right sided pressures, such as those due to a pulmonary embolus. Although it is taught that a dilated right ventricle is associated in patients with pulmonary embolus, but in patients with spontaneous circulation. What is unknown is patients who sustain a cardiac arrest, does the same hold true. There is a paucity of literature surrounding the appearance of the right ventricle in the cardiac arrest patient acutely. This study aims to assess right ventricular size and function in the immediate post cardiac arrest phase.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

The use of point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) has grown rapidly. The incorporation of PoCUS in the assessment of patients in shock and to identify a reversible etiology to a patients cardiac arrest is widely practiced and endorsed by several organizations. While often overlooked, the right ventricle (RV) plays a critical role and often can provide clues to the etiology of a patient who is in shock. The right ventricle is very unique, as its anatomic structure, and function are markedly different then the left ventricle. What is often assessed is the size of the right ventricle. If dilated, which is defined as being >0.6 times that of the left ventricle, this could be indicative of elevated right sided pressures. In the right clinical context this may be caused by an acute pulmonary embolus. While this particular finding may raise clinical suspicion of acute right ventricular strain, point of care ultrasound cannot safely rule out acute pulmonary embolism. Several publications demonstrate the use of thrombolytics if a dilated RV is seen on PoCUS. This applies in patients with cardiac function who have not sustained a cardiac arrest. But in those patients who do sustain a cardiac arrest, these patients fall into a black hole of PoCUS findings related to the right ventricle. The international liaison committee on resuscitation has urged caution due to the unknown PoCUS findings during cardiac arrest. If one were to presume a dilated RV in a setting of a patient who sustained cardiac arrest was due to a pulmonary embolus, thrombolytics would be indicated. However, exposing the patient to thrombolytics, which in themselves carry a hemorrhage risk of 20%, is not a benign decision. Thus PoCUS findings as they pertain to the RV, in patient who sustain a cardiac arrest are unknown how they clinically correlate. Literature from critical care demonstrates that the right ventricle dilates, exhibits RV dysfunction, and carries a worse prognosis then that of the left ventricle. Recent animal data suggests that RV dilatation does occur in a porcine induced cardiac arrest model. To date, no human assessment of RV function and size in the immediate post-arrest state exists, and clearly a need to study this is evident.

objectives and hypothesis Objectives To assess the right ventricular function and size in patients who are immediately post-arrest patients.

Hypothesis Our hypothesis is that right ventricular dysfunction and dilatation is prevalent in the patients who are in cardiac arrest and in the post-cardiac arrest patient population, irrespective of they etiology of their cardiac arrest.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
5

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Manitoba
      • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3A1R9
        • Health Sciences Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Post cardiac arrest patients.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Any post cardiac arrest patient who achieves return of spontaneous circulation that can have their RV assessed with point of care echo cardiography within 1 hour of ROSC.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Significant hemodynamic instability, pregnancy, incarcerated patients, age <18.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Right ventricular dysfunction
Time Frame: 12 months
Assessment of RV dysfunction in post cardiac arrest patients.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Manitoba

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of British Columbia
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Tomislav Jelic, MD, University of Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 6, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 10, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 10, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 16, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 24, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 18, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • B2017:104

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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