Point-of-care lung and cardiac ultrasound (LUCAS) study in hip fracture patients: a prospective cohort study

Purpose A clinical conflict often presented with hip fracture patients is whether to proceed with timely surgery or delay surgery until a formal echocardiogram is conducted. This study aimed to assess the impact of incorporating point-of-care lung and cardiac ultrasound (LUCAS) scans as part of the preoperative assessment for hip fracture patients. Methods We recruited 225 consecutive adult patients booked for urgent hip arthroplasty surgery. A LUCAS scan was performed for each patient. The anesthesiologists were asked to provide their anesthetic plans before and after acknowledging the results of the LUCAS scans. The primary endpoint was a composite outcome of changes to the anesthetic plan. The secondary outcomes included anesthesiologists’ opinions of the LUCAS scans. Results One-hundred-ninety-eight patients were included. The majority of LUCAS findings were not severe. A common abnormal finding was hypovolemia (31%). One-hundred-and-six anesthetic management decisions were changed, with 59 of these changes being an escalation of the anesthetic plan, and 47 of these changes being a de-escalation. Eighty-three percent of anesthesiologists agreed that LUCAS affirmed their anesthetic plans and should be an integral part of the perioperative assessment. Conclusion This study found that LUCAS scans did not significantly alter the anesthetic plan for hip fracture patients. Nevertheless, LUCAS scans can rule out severe cardiopulmonary conditions and allow for both escalation and de-escalation of care. In the setting of early hip surgery, LUCAS presents a viable option in selected patients to address the unmet need to allow for both timely surgery and comprehensive patient evaluation. Study registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03275129); registered 8 July 2018.