Lung Ultrasound in ECMO (LUS-ECMO)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The role of lung ultrasound and calculated lung aeration scores for monitoring lung recovery in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator: A prospective observational study
IRAS ID
211664
Contact name
Antonio Rubino
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Papworth Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Veno-Venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is a medical technique similar to bypass that is used to temporarily replace the function of the lungs when a person becomes very unwell due to an acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). When a person is on VV-ECMO support, frequent chest x-rays and occasional scans of their chest, called computed tomography (CT), are required to monitor changes and improvements in their lungs over time.
Lung ultrasound (LUS) is another method that can be used to visualise the lungs, although this method is not routinely used with VV-ECMO patients. The benefits of LUS over currently used methods (x-ray and CT scans) are that LUS does not expose the person to radiation, it is non-invasive and the scans can be done at the bedside to provide immediate images.
The aim of this research study is to use lung ultrasound to monitor changes and improvements of the lungs of patients on VV-ECMO for ARDS. We are seeking to enroll all patients who are admitted to Papworth Hospital on VV-ECMO for respiratory support due to ARDS between February 2017 –February 2018. We will use the lung ultrasound images to calculate a score of lung aeration. This score will help us to quantify changes and improvements observed. We hope to be able to demonstrate that lung ultrasound and calculated lung aeration scores can be used to accurately monitor changes and improvements in the lungs of patients on VV-ECMO for ARDS.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0004
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion