Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38443957›Full record

Trial reportRespiratory research2024

Self-administered at-home lung ultrasound with remote guidance in patients without clinical training.

Nika Elmi, Yasmin Sadri, Frank Myslik, Jordan Chenkin, William Cherniak

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Respiratory research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04967729 (The Utility of Self-administered Lung Ultrasound in Patients With COVID-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 10% 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.

NCT04967729 nacompletednot on this map

The Utility of Self-administered Lung Ultrasound in Patients With COVID-19

TypeinterventionalSponsorRocket Doctor Inc.Ran2021 to 2022Enrolled26ConditionsCovid19ArmsDevice: Butterfly iQ
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Live teleultrasound for evaluation of the chest: a systematic review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. 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

5 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Nika ElmiMichael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. nika.elmi@medportal.ca.
Yasmin SadriDalhousie Medical School, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Frank MyslikDivision of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Jordan ChenkinDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
William CherniakDivision of Emergency Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Dalhousie University · CAHealth Sciences Centre · CAJohns Hopkins University · USMcMaster University · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccess to timely and accurate diagnostic imaging is essential for high-quality healthcare. Point-of-care ultrasound has been shown to be accessible and effective in many aspects of healthcare, including assessing changes in lung pathology. However, few studies have examined self-administered at-home lung ultrasound (SAAH-LUS), in particular performed by non-clinical patients (NCPs). RESEARCH QUESTION: Are NCPs able to perform SAAH-LUS using remote teleguidance and produce interpretable images? STUDY

designPatients were enrolled to the study in a mix of in-person and virtual recruitment, and shipped a smartphone as well as a point of care ultrasound device. Tele-guidance was provided by a remote physician using software integrated with the point of care ultrasound device, allowing real-time remote visualization and guidance of a patient scanning their own chest. A post-intervention survey was conducted to assess patient satisfaction, feasibility, and acceptability of SAAH-LUS. Two POCUS expert reviewers reviewed the scans for interpretability, and inter-rater agreement between the two reviewers was also computed.

resultsEighteen patients successfully underwent 7-14 days of daily telemedicine in parallel to daily SAAH-LUS. Across 1339 scans obtained from ten different lung zones, the average proportion of interpretability was 96% with a chance-corrected agreement, or Cohen's kappa, reported as κ = 0.67 (significant agreement). 100% of NCPs surveyed found SAAH-LUS to be a positive experience, particularly for its ease of operation and ability to increase access to healthcare services.

interpretationThis study demonstrates that NCPs can obtain interpretable LUS images at home, highlighting the potential for SAAH-LUS to increase diagnostic capacity, particularly for rural and remote regions where complex imaging and healthcare providers are difficult to obtain. Trial registration The clinical trials has been registered (clinicaltrials.gov). REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04967729.

Indexed as

Health PersonnelThoraxHumansLungPatient SatisfactionUltrasonographyCommunity healthPOCUSRemote telemonitoringSelf-imagingUltrasound

Identifiers

PMID38443957
PMCPMC10916118
OpenAlexW4392458848

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.