Inter-rater reliability of critical care transthoracic echocardiography findings amongst cardiac sonographers, junior clinicians and senior clinicians: a prospective study

Echocardiography — an ultrasound of the heart — is frequently used in intensive care units to assess how seriously ill patients' hearts are functioning. However, the way the heart looks on an echo scan can be interpreted differently by different people. This matters because clinical decisions are often made based on comparing one scan to a previous one. This study will compare how consistently three groups — specialist cardiac sonographers, junior trainee doctors, and senior experienced clinicians — interpret heart ultrasound findings in critically unwell patients. This is a prospective observational study: participants are the healthcare professionals performing the scans, not patients. Each participant group will scan the same critically ill patients, and their findings will be compared to see how much they agree with one another. You may be eligible to participate if you are a qualified cardiac sonographer, an intensive care or cardiology trainee, or a fully qualified cardiologist or physician with advanced echo training.