Utility of diagnostic ultrasound in podiatry - Version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Utility of diagnostic ultrasound in a rheumatological podiatry setting
IRAS ID
252154
Contact name
Ruth Barn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Glasgow Caledonian University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The use of diagnostic ultrasound (the same technology used to visualise babies in the mothers womb) is increasingly available in podiatry clinics. One of the key areas where it is being used is in clinics where patients with arthritis and related conditions (a specialty known as rheumatology) attend for treatment of foot problems. Foot problems in patients with arthritis and related conditions are disabling and are known to have a significant impact upon quality of life and ability to participate in activities of daily living. We know that the use of diagnostic ultrasound has been shown to be beneficial in terms of improving accuracy of injections, for example corticosteroid injections. However, we do not know whether the use of diagnostic ultrasound has any impact upon patient symptoms or whether it improves the management plans offered to patients. Within these clinics ultrasound is also used to help educate people with arthritis about their condition by showing them anatomical structures that are inflamed or affected by the disease process. The ability to show people in real time the cause of their foot symptoms (or indeed the improvement following treatment) may be beneficial for patient understanding but we do not know if this is the case. This study will investigate how useful diagnostic ultrasound is in a podiatry rheumatology setting in 3 ways: (i) at improving patient outcomes (ii) at altering podiatry diagnosis and management and (iii) at improving patient education. This will be undertaken by comparing two podiatry rheumatology clinics (one with and one without access to diagnostic ultrasound) and administering patient questionnaires.
REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1625
Date of REC Opinion
18 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion