Chest Ultrasound of ER Patients With Cough or SOB

Prospective Evaluation With Ultrasound of Emergency Department Patients Presenting With Cough or Dyspnea

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Cough; Dyspnea; Wheezing
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Nuvis Diagnostic Ultrasound System

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.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195
      • University of Washington Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Emergency Department (ED) patients with shortness of breath (SOB)

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
B-lines on chest ultrasound as a predictor of pulmonary edema and/or pneumonia	Results from the study ultrasound will be correlated with other imaging results and the emergency physicians initial impression.	Up to 1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Washington
• Collaborators: Philips Healthcare

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 3, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 17, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): October 21, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 22, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Ultrasound; Lung; Cough; Ultrasonography; Wheezing; Dyspnea; Chest; Emergency Departments
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Respiration Disorders; Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory; Cough; Respiratory Sounds; Dyspnea
• Other Study ID Numbers: 47935

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No