Emergency Department Targeted Ultrasound for the Detection of Hydronephrosis

Queen's University200 enrolled

Overview

An Emergency Department Targeted Ultrasound (EDTU) is an ultrasound examination performed by an emergency department physician, instead of a radiologist or ultrasound technician. EDTU is intended to be a readily assessable test performed at the bedside, to quickly and safely determine the presence of a disease state; it answers a binary question, as compared to formal ultrasound imaging which seeks to determine the cause of a patient's symptoms. The objective of this study is to determine the accuracy of EDTU in patients suspected of renal colic. By demonstrating excellent test characteristics, these investigators hope that this research will be used to incorporate EDTU for hydronephrosis into standard emergency care in Canada.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

200

Conditions

Urolithiasis Ultrasonography Hydronephrosis

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 16 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Emergency Department patients * Males and Females * Age 16-65 * Undergoing CT scan of the abdomen or formal ultrasound of the abdomen at Kingston General Hospital or Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario. Exclusion Criteria: * Hemodynamic instability * Fever * Leukocytes or nitrites on dipstick urinalysis * Pregnancy * Renal failure * Single functioning kidney or renal transplant

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Diagnostic accuracy of EDTU

Time frame: 1 hour

Secondary Outcomes

same measures of diagnostic accuracy in the planned subgroup of patients being investigated for suspected renal colic