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Study of Tomography of Nephrolithiasis Evaluation

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Urolithiasis
Interventions
Other: Radiology CT
Other: Point-of-care Ultrasound
Radiation: Radiology Ultrasound
Registration Number
NCT01451931
Lead Sponsor
University of California, San Francisco
Brief Summary

This is a multi-center, randomized controlled trial of ultrasonography (ultrasound) compared to computed tomography (CT) for the initial emergency room evaluation of patients with suspected renal colic. The investigators will compare several measures of effectiveness including morbidity related to the patient's underlying disease, or complications related to delayed diagnosis, patient status regarding pain/missed days of work, and utilization of health care resources based on one of three study arms: ultrasound in the Emergency Department, ultrasound in Radiology or CT.

Detailed Description

This is a multi-center, randomized controlled trial of ultrasonography compared with computed tomography (CT) for the evaluation of patients with suspected urolithiasis. The study will be conducted at 15 large urban Emergency Departments (EDs), reflecting geographic, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic diversity, and include academic medical centers as well as safety net hospitals. The patients will be randomized to one of three arms: 1) ultrasound in the Emergency Department (ED), 2) ultrasound in radiology or 3) CT in radiology. The investigators will then collect precise and unbiased data on a comprehensive range of outcomes that will allow assessment of effectiveness, safety, accuracy and cost between patients randomized to one the three groups. Taken together, these measures are intended to provide the basis for a valid comparison of imaging of patients with suspected urolithiasis seen in the ED. The results of this trial could lead to a change in clinical practice that is associated with both improved patient outcomes and reduced cost. Broad stakeholder involvement from within radiology, emergency medicine and several subspecialty communities has been sought to ensure the strategic completion of study aims and to help rapidly disseminate the results of the study into clinical practice. This will create a collaborative network of EDs willing to act as a laboratory for studying the comparative effectiveness of diagnostic testing. As a result, the proposed trial will demonstrate the feasibility of conducting Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) of imaging that incorporates measurements of outcomes that can be expanded to additional imaging tests in the future.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2776
Inclusion Criteria
  • men or women = or >18 but <76 years of age presenting with acute renal colic
  • Emergency department physician highly suspects a primary diagnosis of kidney stones (renal colic) or the patient requires imaging to rule out kidney stones.
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Exclusion Criteria
  • children < 18 years old
  • elderly patients > or = 76 years old
  • pregnancy or planning pregnancy
  • Morbid obesity (>285 pounds in men, >250 pounds in women)
  • patients with an acute abdomen, signs of sepsis, signs of alternate diagnosis (ie appendicitis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, pyelonephritis, kidney stones not suspected).
  • history of kidney problems (hemodialysis, kidney transplant, presence of only one kidney)
Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Radiology CTRadiology CTPatient with suspected urolithiasis will receive computed tomography in the radiology department. Computed tomography of abdomen completed in the radiology department at time 0.
Point-of-care UltrasoundPoint-of-care UltrasoundPatient with suspected urolithiasis will receive ultrasonography performed in the emergency department. Perform ultrasonography in the ED (physician).
Radiology UltrasoundRadiology UltrasoundPatient with suspected urolithiasis will receive diagnostic ultrasonography in the radiology department. Diagnostic ultrasound completed in the radiology department at time 0.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
High Risk Diagnosis With Complication30 days from baseline

Missed or delayed diagnosis of appendicitis, pneumonia with sepsis, diverticulitis, abdominal aortic aneurysm with rupture, mesenteric ischemia with bowel perforation, renal infarction, stone with renal abscess, urosepsis/pyelonephritis with bacteremia, ovarian torsion with necrosis related to randomization and due to imaging modality.

Cumulative Radiation ExposureBaseline plus 6 months post-baseline
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Return Visits to ED or Hospital6 months post-baseline
ED Length of StayBaseline visit excluding hospitalization
Accuracy for Stones by ArmUp to 6 month follow-up for stone passage

Trial Locations

Locations (15)

UCSF at Fresno

🇺🇸

Fresno, California, United States

Grady Memorial Hospital

🇺🇸

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Oregon Health and Science University

🇺🇸

Portland, Oregon, United States

Washington University School of Medicine

🇺🇸

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

University of California, San Francisco

🇺🇸

San Francisco, California, United States

John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Massachusetts General Hospital

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Hennepin County Medical Center

🇺🇸

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

University of Texas Houston Medical Center

🇺🇸

Houston, Texas, United States

University of Utah

🇺🇸

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Jacobi Medical Center

🇺🇸

Bronx, New York, United States

University of California, Davis

🇺🇸

Sacramento, California, United States

Rhode Island Hospital

🇺🇸

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

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