Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 31, 2025
Author Spotlight: Workflow for Integrating POCUS Data into EHR for Managing Heart Failure Patients
Published on: July 12, 2024
The effects of preoperative point-of-care focused cardiac ultrasound in high-risk patients: study protocol for a
Jan Pallesen, Rajesh Bhavsar, Jesper Fjølner
1peter.juhl-olsen@clin.au.dk.
Insights
Focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) may improve outcomes for high-risk surgical patients. This study investigates if preoperative FOCUS reduces prolonged hospital stays or death within 30 days post-surgery.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Geriatric Surgery
Background:
- Perioperative mortality and morbidity are significant challenges in acute surgery.
- Current preoperative screening often fails to detect occult cardiopulmonary conditions.
- Focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) offers valuable insights into cardiac structure, function, and hemodynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if preoperative Focused Cardiac Ultrasound (FOCUS) impacts clinical outcomes in high-risk surgical patients.
- To assess the effect of FOCUS on reducing prolonged hospital stays and 30-day mortality.
- To explore FOCUS's influence on anesthetic management and perioperative complications.
Main Methods:
- Multi-center, randomized, controlled, prospective study.
- 800 patients aged 65+ undergoing acute/emergency abdominal or orthopedic surgery.
- Randomization to either receive or not receive preoperative FOCUS.
Main Results:
- Primary endpoint: proportion of patients with hospital admission >10 days or 30-day mortality.
- Secondary endpoints: changes in anesthesia approach, organ function biomarkers, and perioperative complications.
- Data analysis to compare outcomes between FOCUS and standard care groups.
Conclusions:
- Preoperative FOCUS has the potential to alter anesthesia evaluation and decision-making.
- Implementation of FOCUS may lead to improved perioperative cardiopulmonary complication management.
- This could result in better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
Introduction:
Perioperative mortality and morbidity remain substantial in acute surgery. Risk factors include known cardiovascular disease, but preoperative screening is insensitive to occult cardiopulmonary conditions. Focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) can disclose both structural and functional cardiac disease and provides insight into the patient's haemodynamic status. This study aims to clarify whether preoperative FOCUS changes clinical outcomes in high-risk patients.
Methods:
This is a multi-centre, randomised, controlled, prospective study including patients ≥ 65 years of age scheduled for acute/emergency abdominal- or orthopaedic surgery. A total of 800 patients will be randomised to ± application of preoperative FOCUS. The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients admitted to hospital > 10 days or death within 30 days of surgery. The secondary endpoints include changes in the anaesthesia approach facilitated by FOCUS, biomarkers of organ function and perioperative complications.
Conclusions:
The knowledge generated from this study may facilitate changes in the anaesthesia evaluation and decision process and, consequently, in the entire perioperative anaesthesia clinical practice. The study has the potential to reduce the risk of perioperative cardiopulmonary complications which directly implies improved patient outcome and reduced hospital costs.
Funding:
The Research Fund of the Department of Anaesthesiology, Randers Regional Hospital, The Central Denmark Region's Medical Research Fund and the Hospital of Southern Jutland.
Trial Registration:
NCT03501927.
More Related Videos
05:04Author Spotlight: Evaluating Clinicians' Adoption of Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation Through Simulation Training
Published on: August 9, 2024
03:40Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Peripheral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Without Left Ventricular Venting
Published on: January 17, 2025
