Validation of Epworth Richmond's Echocardiography Education Focused Year (VEREEFY)

Epworth Healthcare

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pulmonary Embolism; Hypovolemia; Cardiac Tamponade; Shock, Cardiogenic

Treatments: Behavioral: Epworth Richmond's Echocardiography Focused Year

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02961439

EH2016-133

Details and patient eligibility

About

The use of echocardiography in intensive care is a developing field. In expert hands echocardiography has proven its utility in diagnosing cardiac pathology, differentiating shock states and in haemodynamic monitoring. However, whether the results obtained by experts can be generalized to trainees or specialists with limited training remains unclear. Further, concerns around training time and cost for intensive care staff have been a factor in limiting the uptake of echocardiography in intensive care.

The investigators aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of Australian ICU doctors in training after completion of the current minimum training. After completing a structured teaching program and 30 mentored training scans trainees will be assessed on their accuracy with echocardiography. In the research phase trainees will complete a further 40 scans with each one matched with an expect scan. The results from the expert and trainee scans will be compared to determine the trainee's accuracy.

Enrollment: 252 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Registrar Inclusion:

• At least 12 month appointment in Epworth Richmond ICU
• Completion of theoretical component of Epworth Richmond ICU echocardiography program
• Completion of 30 echocardiography scans

Registrar Exclusion:

• Previous experience in echocardiography prior to commencing at Epworth Richmond.

Patient Inclusion

• Patient in ICU or CCU
• 18 years or older
• Not likely to be discharged before completion of the scan

Patient Exclusion

• Likely to be discharged within next two hours
• Atrial fibrillation
• Presence of subcostal or intercostal drains or pneumothorax
• Unable to be consented
• Treating intensivist deems inclusion in study not suitable.

Trial design

252 participants in 2 patient groups

Patient Participants

Description:

Patient participants are adult patients in the Epworth Richmond Intensive care Unit. They are not the focus of the research but rather represent a general population of ICU patients that require echocardiography in the management of their critical illness. They will be a mix of medical and surgical patients some of whom are receiving mechanical ventilation, have movement restrictions, high BMI or other impediments to performing echocardiography.

Registrar Participants

Description:

Registrar participants are doctors in training in ICU. They have completed a formal echo teaching program and completed a logbook of 30 supervised scans. They are the focus of the research and are being assessed on their diagnostic accuracy with echocardiography.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Epworth Richmond's Echocardiography Focused Year