Look before you Leap: A randomized controlled trial of the impact on length of hospital stay of ECHOcardiography Goal-directed Ultrasound Informed Decision-making for Elderly patients undergoing emergency noncardiac surgery - The ECHOGUIDE III trial

In addition to standard clinical preoperative evaluation by the treating medical team, participants randomised to the Goal focused ultrasound (GFU) group will receive i) a preoperative focused cardiac ultrasound performed prior to surgery, following The University of Melbourne iHeartScan protocol ii) A preoperative lung ultrasound following the The University of Melbourne iLungScan protocol iii) A preoperative femoral and popliteal vein ultrasound using a two-point compression method The clinician who performs the GFU will be qualified to the equivalent of a University Graduate Certificate in Clinical Ultrasound and be trained in the iHeartScan and iLungScan protocol and in deep venous ultrasound. In line with a pragmatic trial, any qualified member of the treating team may perform the GFU, and they will complete a structured research report and report those findings to other team members. The information will be available to all members of the treating team before and after surgery, including surgeons, anaesthetists, intensivists, internal medicine physicians, ortho-geriatricians, and emergency medicine physicians (if the GFU is performed in the emergency department).