The Pre-POCT-Non-Conveyance Trial: Prehospital Point-of-Care Testing to Support Non-Conveyance Decisions

NCT07503470 · tracked via the Priya Life Science Denmark tracker

Sponsor

Central Denmark Region

Phase

Not applicable

Started

2026-05-26

Last updated

2026-06-01

Condition(s) studied

Prehospital Emergency Medical ServicesPrehospital Emergency CarePoint of Care Testing

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Point-of-care testing (POCT)

Point-of-care testing (POCT): On-scene biochemical testing performed using portable point-of-care devices. non-conveyance.

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether rapid blood tests performed in the ambulance can be implemented in routine prehospital assessment of adults who are initially considered for transport to hospital. Ambulance clinicians frequently assess adults who are transported to hospital but discharged shortly after arrival without requiring advanced diagnostic testing or treatment.

In this study, researchers will examine whether adding rapid point-of-care blood testing (POCT) at the scene supports ambulance clinicians and Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre (EMDC) physicians in making more informed decisions about hospital conveyance. POCT provides rapid measurements of biomarkers including infection markers, electrolytes, kidney function, blood counts, and total carbon dioxide, a proxy measure related to acid-base status.

Ten ambulance clusters will participate in a matched, cluster-randomized design. Half will provide standard care, and half will have access to POCT following consultation with an EMDC physician in patients who would otherwise be considered for hospital transport.

The main question is whether prehospital POCT can be performed, documented, and made available before the final conveyance decision in routine ambulance-based assessment. The study will also examine whether access to POCT is associated with a higher proportion of patients remaining at home rather than being transported to hospital.

Safety outcomes will include hospital admission within 24 hours among non-conveyed patients, short-stay hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and 30-day mortality.

This study will evaluate the implementation of POCT-supported decision-making in prehospital care and explore whether it may increase non-conveyance without compromising patient safety.

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Min age

18 Years

Max age

—

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged ≥18 years * Emergency call or general practitioner-commissioned ambulance dispatch following telephone triage only, including video streaming triage, resulting in ambulance dispatch * Initial on-scene assessments performed by the ambulance crew * Patients initially considered for hospital conveyance based on clinical assessment * Following telemedical consultation with an Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre (EMDC) physician, deemed eligible for point-of-care blood testing (POCT) * Hemodynamically and clinically stable according to predefined operational stability criteria (including Glasgow Coma Scale, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart rate), with final eligibility determined by the EMDC physician based on overall clinical assessment and the patient's baseline status Exclusion Criteria: * Non-emergency calls (e.g., interfacility transport or scheduled patient transport) * General practitioner-commissioned ambulance dispatches where the patient has been physically assessed by a general practitioner or another physician before ambulance arrival * Immediate need for emergency transport to hospital as determined by clinical assessment * Persistent unstable vital signs outside predefined operational thresholds, except for known chronic baseline deviations (e.g., reduced oxygen saturation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic tachyarrhythmia in atrial fibrillation) * Inability to obtain venous or capillary blood samples * Prior participation in the study within 30 days (to ensure complete outcome follow-up)

Primary outcome measure(s)

Implementation of prehospital POCT — Day 1 (at completion of on-scene assessment)
Implementation of prehospital POCT, defined as the proportion of intervention-cluster attended patient encounters within the study population in which POCT was attempted, at least one valid POCT result was obtained and documented, and the result was available before the final conveyance decision.

Trial sites (1)

Facility	City	Region	Status
Prehospital Emergency Medical Services, Central Denmark Region, Denmark	Aarhus N	Denmark	Recruiting

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Official registry record

This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.

View NCT07503470 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ← All trials in Denmark