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Repeat Biliary Point of Care Ultrasound for Detecting Early Acute Cholecystitis

24 augusti 2026 uppdaterad av: WellSpan Health

The goal of this interventional, prospective study is to determine the clinical utility of a repeat point-of-care ultrasound of the gallbladder in adult emergency department patients with abdominal pain for which initial imaging is not diagnostic. The main question it aims to answer is: Does a repeat ultrasound improve early identification of gallbladder inflammation?

Participants will undergo a repeat ultrasound of the gallbladder while still in the emergency department and will be followed up to determine subsequent diagnoses, disposition, consultations and other clinical information.

Studieöversikt

Detaljerad beskrivning

Acute cholecystitis is a frequent cause of abdominal pain leading to emergency department (ED) evaluation and accounts for approximately 200,000 cases annually in the US (1). Ultrasound (US) is the first-line diagnostic test, but early disease may produce equivocal or negative findings. This diagnostic uncertainty can lead to delayed treatment or the need for additional imaging, such as computed tomography (CT) or a hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan. Recent research has shown that inflammatory changes of the gallbladder may evolve over several hours during the acute presentation. Repeat point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) evaluations have the potential to identify interval development of clinically relevant findings, including gallbladder wall thickening, pericholecystic fluid, common bile duct dilation, and focal tenderness (sonographic Murphy's sign) (2). Despite this rationale, there is currently no prospective evidence supporting repeat POCUS examinations in ED patients with suspected cholecystitis.

Objectives

  1. To assess the role of a repeated biliary point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) examination in ED patients with an initial US equivocal or negative for acute cholecystitis.
  2. To determine if a repeated biliary POCUS examination in the ED improves the diagnostic accuracy for acute cholecystitis.

The investigators hypothesize that a repeat biliary POCUS will improve diagnostic accuracy for acute cholecystitis in ED patients with an initially equivocal or negative ultrasound.

The investigators will conduct a prospective, single arm, interventional cohort study of adult ED patients presenting with right upper quadrant pain (RUQ) and clinical concern for acute cholecystitis. Patients will be eligible for enrollment if they demonstrate initial US that is negative or equivocal for acute cholecystitis, as well as ongoing symptoms prompting a general surgery consult or additional non-US advanced imaging. Consented study participants will undergo repeat biliary POCUS performed by credentialed ED physicians within 2-6 hours of their baseline US. Sonographic findings will be recorded with particular attention to interval changes to the gallbladder since the prior US. Additional data will be collected from the electronic medical record regarding clinical endpoints, including subsequent diagnoses of acute biliary pathology and the need for additional non-US imaging, consultation, or procedural intervention. The diagnostic accuracy and yield of repeat biliary POCUS will be calculated.

Studietyp

Interventionell

Inskrivning (Beräknad)

90

Fas

  • Inte tillämpbar

Kontakter och platser

Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.

Studiekontakt

  • Namn: Brent Becker Principal Investigator, MD
  • Telefonnummer: 717-851-4819
  • E-post: bbecker2@wellspan.org

Studera Kontakt Backup

Studieorter

Deltagandekriterier

Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.

Urvalskriterier

Åldrar som är berättigade till studier

  • Vuxen
  • Äldre vuxen

Tar emot friska volontärer

Nej

Beskrivning

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ≥ 18 years of age
  • Presenting to the emergency department with abdominal pain with clinical concern for possible acute cholecystitis
  • Initial biliary US interpreted as normal, equivocal or negative for acute cholecystitis
  • 2-6 hours since initial biliary ultrasound with ongoing symptoms
  • General surgery consult placed or additional non-ultrasound advanced imaging ordered
  • Fluency in English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria:

  • < 18 years of age
  • > 6 hours since initial biliary US
  • Asymptomatic/resolved symptoms or pending discharge from the emergency department
  • Initial ultrasound positive for acute cholecystitis or other findings to explain presenting symptoms
  • Baseline ascites
  • Prior cholecystectomy
  • Unable or unwilling to provide consent
  • Presenting to a facility other than study site emergency department
  • Transferred patients from outside facilities

Studieplan

Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.

Hur är studien utformad?

Designdetaljer

  • Primärt syfte: Diagnostisk
  • Tilldelning: N/A
  • Interventionsmodell: Enskild gruppuppgift
  • Maskning: Ingen (Open Label)

Vapen och interventioner

Deltagargrupp / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Experimentell: Repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound
Repeat point-of-care ultrasound to be performed 2-6 hours from time of initial ultrasound imaging study
Repeat biliary point of care ultrasound to be performed 2-6 hours following initial ultrasound imaging study

Vad mäter studien?

Primära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Number of patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis
Tidsram: Within 30 days of enrollment
Diagnosis of acute cholecystitis
Within 30 days of enrollment

Sekundära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Interval change in gallbladder wall thickness (GWT) on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound
Tidsram: Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in gallbladder wall thickness (GWT) on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound compared to initial biliary ultrasound (measured in millimeters).
Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in pericholecystic fluid (PCF) on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound
Tidsram: Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in PCF on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound compared to initial biliary ultrasound (assessed as present, absent, increased, decreased or no change).
Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in focal tenderness over the gallbladder (sonographic Murphy's sign (SMS))
Tidsram: Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in focal tenderness over the gallbladder (SMS) on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound compared to initial biliary ultrasound (assessed as present, absent or no change).
Within 2-6 hours of initial biliary ultrasound
Interval change in gallbladder diameter (GBD) on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound
Tidsram: Within 2-6 hours of initial ultrasound
Interval change in GBD on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound compared to initial biliary ultrasound (measured in centimeters).
Within 2-6 hours of initial ultrasound
Interval change in common bile duct (CBD) diameter on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound
Tidsram: Within 2-6 hours of initial ultrasound
Interval change in CBD diameter on repeat biliary point-of-care ultrasound compared to initial biliary ultrasound (measured in millimeters).
Within 2-6 hours of initial ultrasound
Number of patients diagnosed with other biliary pathology
Tidsram: Within 30 days of enrollment
Diagnosis of other biliary pathology, including choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia or other new diagnosis involving the gallbladder, biliary ducts or pancreas.
Within 30 days of enrollment
Number of patients requiring specialty consultation
Tidsram: Within 30 days of enrollment
Need for surgery, gastroenterology or other specialty consultation
Within 30 days of enrollment
Number of patients requiring additional non-ultrasound imaging modalities
Tidsram: Within 30 days of enrollment
Use of other non-ultrasound imaging modalities, including computed tomography, hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan, or magnetic resonance imaging.
Within 30 days of enrollment
Number of patient requiring biliary interventions
Tidsram: Within 30 days of enrollment
Need for cholecystectomy, cholecystostomy tube, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or other procedural biliary intervention
Within 30 days of enrollment

Samarbetspartners och utredare

Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.

Sponsor

Utredare

  • Huvudutredare: Brent Becker, MD, Wellspan Health

Publikationer och användbara länkar

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Studieavstämningsdatum

Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.

Studera stora datum

Studiestart (Faktisk)

1 juni 2026

Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)

1 juli 2028

Avslutad studie (Beräknad)

31 december 2028

Studieregistreringsdatum

Först inskickad

17 augusti 2026

Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

24 augusti 2026

Första postat (Faktisk)

28 augusti 2026

Uppdateringar av studier

Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)

28 augusti 2026

Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

24 augusti 2026

Senast verifierad

1 juni 2026

Mer information

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