Bedside stomach scan could cut a deadly intubation risk
NCT ID NCT07823413
First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Emergency intubation can cause stomach contents to enter the lungs, a dangerous complication called aspiration. Researchers at Assiut University Hospital are testing whether adding a bedside gastric ultrasound scan to standard airway care lowers that risk. The trial enrolls 134 adults with trauma who need urgent intubation. Half receive the scan-guided bundle, and half receive usual care, and the team compares how often aspiration occurs.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a bedside gastric ultrasound scan used to guide emergency airway management
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could give emergency teams a simple, low-cost way to check stomach contents before intubation and reduce aspiration-related lung injury.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small and single-center, so results may not apply everywhere. Ultrasound images can be hard to obtain in trauma patients, and the scan itself may not change outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 134 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Oct 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * aged ≥ 18 years, presenting to the ED with a trauma-related indication and requiring urgent or semi-urgent endotracheal intubation, as determined by the treating emergency physician. Exclusion Criteria: * ● Allergy to local anesthetics, muscle relaxants, sedatives or dexmedetomidine. * History suggestive of intestinal obstruction or gastric outlet obstruction. * Known pregnancy. * Morbid obesity. * History of gastric/esophageal surgery. * Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or any other pathology affecting the physiology or function of the gastrointestinal tract or the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). * Patients in cardiac or respiratory arrest or any patients requiring crash intubation. * Patients with a gastric or duodenal tube in situ. * Anticipated difficult airway for reasons unrelated to aspiration risk (e.g., known airway tumor), where bundle elements would be superseded by a dedicated difficult-airway protocol. * Patients with vertebral and spinal trauma. * Clinically evident aspiration prior to gastric ultrasound assessment (e.g., witnessed aspiration before ED arrival). * Anticipated interval between the gastric ultrasound scan and induction exceeding 30 minutes, where a significant change in gastric content cannot be excluded. * Patients/guardians not consenting to take part in the study.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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