Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37284603›Full record

ArticleBritish paramedic journal2023

Venous blood point-of-care testing (POCT) for paramedics in urgent and emergency care: protocol for a single-site feasibility study (POCTPara).

Bryan Lightowler, Andrew Hodge, Richard Pilbery, Fiona Bell, Pete Best, Kelly Hird, Alison Walker, Beverly Snaith

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British paramedic journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Point-of-care tests in the emergency medical services: a scoping review.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Bryan LightowlerUniversity of Bradford ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9884-6762.
Andrew HodgeThe Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2632-2249.
Richard PilberyYorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5797-9788.
Fiona BellYorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4503-1903.
Pete BestYorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7298-1138.
Kelly HirdYorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1146-022X.
Alison WalkerHarrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9235-2676.
Beverly SnaithThe Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6296-0889.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust · GBORCID · USUniversity of Bradford · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic placed the UK healthcare system under unprecedented pressure, and recovery will require whole-system investment in innovative, flexible and pragmatic solutions. Positioned at the heart of the healthcare system, ambulance services have been tasked with addressing avoidable hospital conveyance and reducing unnecessary emergency department and hospital attendances through the delivery of care closer to home. Having begun to implement models of care intended to increase 'see and treat' opportunities through greater numbers of senior clinical decision makers, emphasis has now been placed upon the use of remote clinical diagnostic tools and near-patient or point-of-care testing (POCT) to aid clinical decision making. In terms of POCT of blood samples obtained from patients in the pre-hospital setting, there is a paucity of evidence beyond its utility for measuring lactate and troponin in acute presentations such as sepsis, trauma and myocardial infarction, although potential exists for the analysis of a much wider panel of analytes beyond these isolated biomarkers. In addition, there is a relative dearth of evidence in respect of the practicalities of using POCT analysers in the pre-hospital setting. This single-site feasibility study aims to understand whether it is practical to use POCT for the analysis of patients' blood samples in the urgent and emergency care pre-hospital setting, through descriptive data of POCT application and through qualitative focus group interviews of advanced practitioners (specialist paramedics) to inform the feasibility and design of a larger study. The primary outcome measure is focus group data measuring the experiences and perceived self-reported impact by specialist paramedics. Secondary outcome measures are number and type of cartridges used, number of successful and unsuccessful attempts in using the POCT analyser, length of time on scene, specialist paramedic recruitment and retention, number of patients who receive POCT, descriptive data of safe conveyance, patient demographics and presentations where POCT is applied and data quality. The study results will inform the design of a main trial if indicated.

Indexed as

paramedicpoint-of-care testingpre-hospital

Identifiers

PMID37284603
PMCPMC10240860
OpenAlexW4379210215

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.