SatCare: remote support for ambulance clinicians in emergencies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SatCare: remotely supported ultrasound for ambulance clinicians in medical emergencies
IRAS ID
228324
Contact name
Leila Eadie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
Background
Patients living a considerable distance from major centres of care are disadvantaged in time-critical medical and surgical emergencies. Can we deliver better emergency care in ambulances using ultrasound to provide early diagnostic information? SatCare is a randomised controlled trial involving rapid standardised ultrasound assessment of patients with shock, major trauma, chest pain or breathlessness in emergency ambulances. The scans will take less than 5 minutes and be transmitted to a hospital-based expert for review, providing support and instructions for optimal prehospital care.Methods
Five Highland ambulances covering areas more than 30 minutes from Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, will be equipped with an ultrasound machine (M-Turbo, FujiFilm Sonosite) and satellite transmission system plus webcam, and will be deployed in real emergency situations. When dispatched to a potentially eligible patient, the attending paramedic will contact the hospital’s emergency department in to check the availability of an emergency medicine specialist and obtain study group allocation (ultrasound with enhanced telecommunications plus usual care versus usual care alone). We aim to recruit 1000 patients in total. Following verbal consent from the patient, trained paramedics will perform the condition-specific scan protocols in the ambulance at the incident site, and transmit the recordings and patient video via satellite to Raigmore Hospital for specialist analysis. The consultant will give advice on management via standard ambulance communications systems while it is en route to the hospital. Patients will be asked to complete the EQ5D questionnaire 3 months after the incident.Planned Analyses
We will examine the remotely supported prehospital ultrasound implementation in terms of its delivery and functioning. Both economic and process evaluations will compare its use with care as usual for eligible patients transported by ambulance, modelling the costs and benefits of this service expansion and determining optimum use.REC name
Scotland A: Adults with Incapacity only
REC reference
17/SS/0084
Date of REC Opinion
30 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion