Validation of POEM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Real-time clinical validation of the Point Of Care Microcirculation (POEM) tool at the bedside
IRAS ID
215942
Contact name
Sam Hutchings
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Sublingual (under the tongue) video-microscopy is a way of directly viewing the tiniest blood vessels in the body that are responsible for oxygen exchange, by aiming a hand-held microscope under the tongue. This technique enables the user to measure the way the microcirculation reacts to disease and treatments. There is some evidence that this technique may be superior to conventional measurements of blood pressure for critically unwell patients. However, despite advances in technology, it is currently only used for research, and not clinically. This is because the technique requires off-line video analysis away from the patient in time and space.
The Point Of carE Microcirculation (POEM) tool has recently been reported as a quicker technique to assess the flow and heterogeneity of the microcirculation, with good inter-user agreement, and corresponding well to off-line computer analysis. The speed of availability of data relating to the microcirculation provided by the POEM score makes it an attractive candidate for use in the clinical setting, rather than research alone. Although the POEM score showed good inter-user agreement when tested in the original study, this was performed by study participants at a computer module, away from the patient environment. Whether being physically at a patient bedside makes a difference in POEM assessments is unknown. Furthermore, the study participants were not performing video-microscopy at the time of attributing POEM scores. Instead, they were assessing pre-recorded videos. In order to validate this technique, and test its applicability in the real-time clinical situation, the current study will assess the inter-user agreement between individuals actively performing sublingual video-microscopy at the patient bedside in the Intensive Care Unit.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0274
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion