Diagnostic Value of Portable Ultrasound for Dyspneic Patient Support in the Emergency Department

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Value of Portable Ultrasound for Dyspneic Patient Support in the Emergency Department: a Randomized Study

The main objective of our study is to compare the effects of two care strategies for dyspneic patients on the length of hospital stay: (1) standard care (=contextual analysis + conventional clinical chest radiography) versus (2) standard care + pleuropulmonary ultrasound.

The secondary objectives of this study are to assess the following for both arms:

A-fatality rate, B-degree of concordance between the diagnosis orientation in the emergency department and final diagnosis determined by an expert committee using patient records one month later (blind evaluation by a panel of experts) C-clinical improvement between early emergency care and later care outside the emergency department (clinical parameters = blood gases and other biological parameters) D-imaging parameters.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The patient must have given his/her informed and signed consent
• The patient must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
• Patient consulting in the emergency department for dyspnea

Exclusion Criteria:

• The patient is participating in another study
• The patient is in an exclusion period determined by a previous study
• The patient is under judicial protection, under tutorship or curatorship
• The patient refuses to sign the consent
• It is impossible to correctly inform the patient
• The patient cannot read French
• The patient is pregnant, parturient, or breastfeeding