Feasibility of Doppler Ultrasound for Pulse Detection in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients

Doppler Ultrasound Pulse Detection in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Feasibility Study.

The goal of this prospective observational study is to investigate the feasibility of using doppler point-of-care ultrasound on the femoral artery with a portable device to assess the presence of a pulse in patients suffering from cardiac arrest in the out-of-hospital environment. The main question is how often researchers are successful in acquiring the necessary ultrasound signal in the out-of-hospital environment.

In this prospective observational study, a dedicated research team will be dispatched to cardiac arrest patients treated in the prehospital environment by emergency medical services (EMS). The team will use a portable ultrasound device to identify the femoral artery and conduct a pulsed wave (PW) doppler measurement during chest compressions as well as during chest compression pauses for rhythm analysis and save the recorded images. These ultrasound pulse checks will be conducted in parallel with the normal treatment of the patient, including manual pulse checks, and will only be conducted if ultrasound is possible without interference in the resuscitation. All treatment decisions will rest with the treating EMS team.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated by EMS
• Minimum age of 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy
• Disapproval of the treating EMS team
• Adults under legal guardianship
• Inability to perform femoral artery doppler ultrasound due to limited access to the patient and possible interference with the treating EMS team
• Inability to perform femoral artery doppler ultrasound due to injuries or anatomic abnormalities in the femoral region or necessary emergent medical interventions in the femoral region
• Decision to transfer the patient to the hospital with ongoing CPR for emergent procedures such as extracorporeal CPR before femoral artery doppler ultrasound could be attempted
• Inability to safely perform femoral artery doppler ultrasound due to environmental hazards