An interventional study of Point of care ultrasound in Emergency Medicine, POCUS and Abdominal Pain (AP), sponsored by University of Aarhus. Not yet recruiting at 3 sites in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-30.
Sponsored by University of Aarhus · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if adding an abdominal ultrasound scan to the standard examination helps emergency physicians make a correct diagnosis in adults with acute abdominal pain in the emergency department. The main question it aims to answer is:
Does adding an abdominal point of care ultrasound scan to the standard examination increase the number of patients with acute abdominal pain in the emergency department, who get a correct preliminary diagnosis?
Researchers will compare patients examined with an abdominal point-of-care ultrasound scan in addition to the standard examination to patients examined with the standard examination alone, to see if adding ultrasound improves diagnostic accuracy.
Participants will:
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants in the intervention group will undergo an abdominal point-of-care ultrasound examination in addition to the standard clinical examination. The scan will be performed by the enrolling physician as part of the initial bedside assessment, with timing, workflow, equipment, transducer, and preset left to the physician's discretion. The examination typically takes 5-10 minutes, and findings may guide further diagnostics or treatment, again at the physician's discretion.
Diagnostic Test: Point of care ultrasound
Participants in the control group will receive a standard clinical assessment, including uptaking the medical history and physical examination of the abdomen and, where clinically indicated, other organ systems, in line with local guidelines. Abdominal POCUS cannot be performed during the ED stay in this group. However, other POCUS modalities (e.g. lung or cardiac ultrasound) or ultrasound performed by a radiologist (after the initial assessment) may still be used if clinically indicated.
The abdominal point-of-care ultrasound examination is performed by the enrolling emergency physician at the bedside, as part of the initial assessment, rather than by a radiologist or sonographer. The examination follows a standardized scanning protocol developed by the study steering committee, covering conditions that are common or critical in the emergency department, accessible to point-of-care ultrasound, and supported by evidence on diagnostic accuracy. The examination typically takes 5 to 10 minutes. Findings may guide further diagnostics or treatment at the physician's discretion.
Correct preliminary diagnosis
The primary outcome is the correct preliminary diagnosis, defined as agreement between the enrolling physician's preliminary diagnosis and the final adjudicated diagnosis.
Time frame: From enrollment to after 30 days
Inclusion of a correct diagnosis in the differential diagnosis
The proportion of patients in whom the final adjudicated diagnosis is included in the list of differential diagnoses recorded by the physician after the initial clinical assessment.
Time frame: From enrollment to after 30 days
Appropriateness of next diagnostic/therapeutic step
The proportion of patients in whom the subsequent diagnostic or therapeutic step is concordant with the final diagnosis.
Time frame: From enrollment and the first 24 hours
ED length of stay
Time from randomization to physical departure from the ED.
Time frame: From enrollment and til after 30 days
ED re-attendance
Re-attendance to the ED within 7 and 30 days following the index visit.
Time frame: From enrollment and till after 30 days
Number of additional diagnostic tests
The number of additional diagnostic tests performed after the initial clinical assessment during the index ED visit.
Time frame: From enrollment til after 30 days
Physician-reported diagnostic confidence
Measured using a visual analogue scale from 0-100 following the initial clinical assessment.
Time frame: At enrollment
Plan to share: Yes — Upon completion of the study, individual participant data underlying the results reported in study publications will be considered for sharing. Data will only be shared with researchers who submit a methodologically sound research proposal, approved by both an independent scientific review committee and the study steering committee, and subject to relevant ethical and data protection regulations (GDPR and the Danish Data Protection Act). Requests for data access should be directed to the principal investigator.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap, Icf
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Aarhus