Conditional Imaging Prescription Strategy for Exploration of Acute Uncomplicated Renal Colic
Acute Renal ColicNephrolithiasisProspective single centre study aiming at validating a conditional imaging strategy for diagnosis of suspected kidney stone. Consecutive Emergency department patients referred to the medical imaging department for exploration of a suspected acute uncomplicated renal colic will undergo the following interventions : systematic plain abdominal Xray, systematic ultrasonography and systematic unenhanced CT (with a reduced dose scan), in addition to clinical examination and assessment of body mass index and the Sex, Timing, Origin, Nausea, Erythrocytes (STONE) clinical prediction score for symptomatic stone. Patients will be followed up at 1 month to record the need for urologic intervention and its type. The performances of different conditional imaging strategy for the diagnosis of suspected renal colic will be assessed retrospectively. The conditional strategies tested will be based on the patient's stone score and BMI and targeted use of combined plain X-ray and ultrasonography and/or unenhanced CT. The reference diagnosis for renal colic will be made according to the finding of a ureteral stone or indirect signs of urolithiasis at unenhanced CT.
Limit Computed Tomography (CT) Scanning in Suspected Renal Colic
Renal ColicFlank Pain1 moreComputed tomography (CT) scanning is overused, expensive, and causes cancer. CT scan utilization in the U.S. has increased from an estimated 3 million CTs in 1980 to 62 million per year in 2007. From 2000 through 2006, Medicare spending on imaging more than doubled to $13.8 billion with advanced imaging such as CT scanning largely responsible. CT represents only 11% of radiologic examinations but is responsible for two-thirds of the ionizing radiation associated with medical imaging in the U.S. Recent estimates suggest that there will be 12.5 cancer deaths for every 10,000 CT scans. Renal colic is a common, non-life-threatening condition for which CT is overused. As many as 12% of people will have a kidney stone in their lifetime, and more than one million per year will present to the emergency department (ED). CT is now a first line test for renal colic, and is very accurate. However, 98% of kidney stones 5mm or smaller will pass spontaneously, and CT rarely alters management. A decision rule is needed to determine which patients with suspected renal colic require CT. While the signs and symptoms of renal colic have been shown to be predictable, no rule has yet been rigorously derived or validated to guide CT imaging in renal colic. A subset of patients with suspected renal colic may have a more serious diagnosis or a kidney stone that will require intervention; however the investigators maintain that clinical criteria, point of care ultrasound and plain radiography (when appropriate), will provide a more comparatively effective and safer approach by appropriately limiting imaging.
Metabolic Workup in Patients Suffering From Kidney Stone Disease and Osteopenia
UrolithiasisRenal Colic1 morePatients suffering from acute renal colic are evaluated by non contrast computerized tomography with excellent identification rates of urinary stones. The scan also covers the bones of the ribs, spine and pelvis, allowing measurements of the bone density and identifying early osteopenic changes. Bone demineralization is associated with metabolic changes such as hypercalcemia or hypercalcuria. In this study the investigators will look for correlation between kidney stones, osteopenic bone changes and metabolic abnormalities.
Comparison of Treatment by IM Ketamine to IV Ketamine in Patients With Renal Colic
Acute PainRenal ColicPatients who present to the emergency department (ED), with acute pain due to renal colic, are often treated with opioids. Treatment with opioids has many disadvantages - cardio-respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting and long term dependence. For these reasons, there is a constant search for a way to reduce the use of opioids. ketamine has been proven to augmented the analgesic effect of opioids, and thus reduce the use and adverse effects of opioids. Different studies about the use of Ketamine as a sedition agent have shown that Ketamine given IM versus IV has longer duration of effect with less adverse effects. The study we are conducting is designed to test and analyze the safety and efficacy of IV Ketamine with IV Morphine compared to IV Ketamine and morphine with IM placebo in a setting of acute pain due to, or suspected renal colic in the ED. When both ways of administration are given by the protocol as is customary for treatment of pain in the Emergency Medicine department, and will be a prospective, randomized, double blind, controlled study.
Emergency Department Ultrasound in Renal Colic
Renal ColicHydronephrosis1 moreRenal colic is a common (1300 visits per year at our institution) and painful condition caused by stones in the kidney and ureter, and can be mimicked by life threatening conditions such as a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This can create clinical uncertainty. Emergency department targeted ultrasound (EDTU) is performed by an emergency physician at the patient's bedside, and has been shown to be accurate, safe, and efficient. We have shown that EDTU can accurately identify hydronephrosis, which is a predictor of complications of kidney stones. A normal formal ultrasound (US) predicts an uncomplicated clinical course. We will assess the accuracy of EDTU for the diagnosis of hydronephrosis, and when normal, whether patients can be safely discharged.
Evaluation of Ultra-portable Ultrasound in General Practice
PneumoniaPleural Effusion6 moreThis is an interventional multi-centre study comparing two groups of general practitioners with or without an ultrasound scanner over a period of 6 months. The evaluation focuses on the management of patients for 8 pathologies: Pneumonia Pleural effusion Renal colic Hepatic colic or cholecystitis Subcutaneous abscess or cyst Fracture of long bones Intra-uterine pregnancy or extra-uterine pregnancy or miscarriage Phlebitis The principal hypothesis is that there are fewer complementary exams in the group of doctors using ultrasound scanners. The secondary hypotheses are: There is better patient orientation (emergency care, specialist consultation, return home) in the group of doctors using the ultrasound scanners. The global cost of the care is lower in the group of doctors using the ultrasound. Using ultrasound during the consultation decreases the anxiety of the patient. Using ultrasound increases the duration of the consultation. There is no difference between the predicted and the real orientation of the patients.
Hydronephrosis on Ultrasound With CT Finding in Patients With Renal Colic
HydronephrosisRenal ColicThe purpose of this study is to determine the overall sensitivity and specificity of hydronephrosis on point-of-care bedside ultrasound to identify hydronephrosis as compared to hydronephrosis found by CT.
AMPED Outcomes Registry of Post-ED Pain Management
Soft Tissue InjuriesGouty Arthritis3 moreStudy aims to assess patient-recorded outcomes of pain control medications prescribed in the ER after visits for specific painful injuries/illnesses.
"Point of Care" Ultrasound and Renal Colic
Renal ColicThe management of renal colic in emergency departments follows the recommendations established at the 8th consensus conference of 2008 on the management of renal colic in emergency services. It recommends the control of pain by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics, the implementation of an urinary test strip and the use of emergency imaging for compiled forms and patient with medical specificities. Currently, two imaging techniques are recommended during an episode of renal colic: Abdominal x-ray/Ultrasound or non-injected scanner for simple forms to be performed within 24-48h The non-injected scanner for complicated forms In simple forms, the decision to perform any examination remains at the discretion of the physician but with a tendency to carry out a scanner systematically even in the absence of criteria of severity or complication. The use of the scanner exposes the patient to large doses of radiation even if it is a low dose scanner. In recent years, studies have been conducted to determine whether the ultrasound, particularly "point of care" ultrasound performed by an emergency physician could be an alternative in the management of renal colic. Studies show that the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound is comparable to that of the scanner. It has been found that the performance of an ultrasound by the emergency physician allows the decrease in irradiation and also in costs. In 2014,a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasized that the ultrasound performed by the emergency physician would perform just as well as that performed by the radiologist and would result in a decreased time in the emergency room. The Korean study, published in 2016 in the Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine (CEEM), despite some statistical inconsistencies, shows a significant reduction in the time of care by 74 minutes. In this context, we would like to conduct a single-centre, randomised, controlled, open-label study comparing a group of patients benefiting from point of care ultrasound versus a group of patients not benefiting from it. The goal is to determine whether the early ultrasound performed by the emergency physician by detecting expansions of the pelvicalyceal cavities reduces the time spent in the emergency department.
Urinary Markers for Unilateral Kidney Obstruction
Renal ColicAcute Renal FailureRenal colic is usually caused from an obstructing stone along the ureter. Some of the patients present with a high level of creatinin in the blood, even though there is a normal functioning contralateral kidney. Furthermore creatinin is not an ideal marker for renal function during acute changes. Several works have shown that modern urinary markers such as NGAL (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin), KIM-1 (Kidney Injury Molecule-1) and others rise earlier and are much more sensitive for kidney insult. There is a lack of research on their role in acute kidney obstruction