POCUS Screening for TAA in Hypertensive Patients in the ED
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Point-of-care ultrasound.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm (TAA), Aortic Dissection. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Hong Kong
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Point-of-care Ultrasound Screening of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm in Hypertensive Patients in the Emergency Department
Overview
The investigators are going to recruit hypertensive patients in the emergency department of Prince of Wales Hospital. Point-of-care ultrasound of the aorta and measurements of the aortic diameter will be obtained. Other relevant clinical data will also be obtained for analysis. The primary outcome is the number of patients with a maximum aortic diameter of ≥ 4.5 cm and/or ≥ 50% localized enlarged diameter relative to the adjacent normal segment as indicated by POCUS.
Detailed description
Investigators trained with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) will recruit hypertensive patients in the emergency department (ED) of Prince of Wales Hospital. POCUS will be performed using a handheld ultrasound device to visualise the aortic root, ascending aorta, aortic arch and descending aorta. Measurements of the diameter will be obtained from different segments of the thoracic aorta for analysis. The definition of aortic aneurysm is a maximum aortic diameter of ≥ 4.5 cm and/or ≥ 50% localized enlarged diameter relative to the adjacent normal segment as indicated by POCUS. The primary outcome is the prevalence of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) in hypertensive patients in the ED. The secondary outcomes include the number of patients with confirmed TAA as verified by CTA, BMI for all participants, the number of CTA scans conducted for TAA confirmation, the number of surgical interventions performed among TAA patients, the ICU admission rate, ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay and mortality, proportion of adequate visualisation of POCUS studies obtained, agreement of aortic diameter measurement between CTA and POCUS, and signs and symptoms of TAA patients presenting to the ED. In addition, the investigators will assess the 28-day all-cause mortality and any advanced imaging done outside the ED.
Interventions
- Diagnostic test Point-of-care ultrasound
POCUS screening will be conducted to measure the maximum diameters at end diastole of the aortic root, ascending aorta, aortic arch, and descending thoracic aorta.
Primary outcome measures
- number of patients with a dilated aorta [Time frame: Day 1]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- number of patients with confirmed TAA [Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Adult patients aged ≥ 18 years attending the ED during the study period
- Known history of hypertension or newly diagnosed hypertension in the ED
Exclusion criteria
- Known history of aortic aneurysm or dissection
- Previous thoracic aortic interventions or endovascular stenting
- Patients in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Traumatic patients
- Patients refuse to participate the study
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Hong Kong · 1 center
- Prince of Wales Hospital — Shatin
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06854588 · NTEC-2024-753