Abstract
Background: Following the National Patient Safety Agency alert in the UK thoracic ultrasound (TUS) is strongly recommended for all pleural procedures (PP). This places strains on clinical service delivery. We undertook a randomised control study to test the hypothesis that a NP trained to Royal College of Radiologist level 1 TUS and in performing PP independently is equivalent to doctors trained in undertaking PP.
Method: In this prospective ethically approved un-blinded non-inferiority study we assessed PP as carried out by a NP (Group A) in comparison with doctors trained in PP (Group B) in 32 patients. Primary endpoints were success of the PP, procedural pain using visual analogue score (VAS), patient anxiety using short form State Trait Anxiety Index (STAI). Secondary outcome measures were complications. Non parametric statistical tests were used for analysis.
Results: There was no statistically significant (NS) difference between groups as assessed by primary endpoints (Table 1). There was one failure to undertake therapeutic pleural aspiration in Group B. Delayed complications were drain dislodgement in Group A and re-expansion pulmonary oedema in Group B.
Conclusion: We believe this is the first randomised control study to test if after appropriate training a pleural NP is able to safely and effectively undertake PP with equivalence in practice to trained doctors.
- © 2013 ERS