Pulmonary Function by Litter Position

NCT07219290 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: 25-45106
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 12
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A litter is often needed to extract a person from an austere environment like the wilderness or from confined, urban spaces. A horizontal litter is generally assumed to be better for patient care, but often makes for a more difficult, if not impossible, evacuation from some settings such as confined space rescue, cave rescue, or wilderness rescue when the litter must be moved up or down a cliff with an undercut edge. A litter in a vertical orientation is easier to move in these situations, which may expedite movement towards definitive care. In some wilderness rescue circles, the mantra is that movement IS definitive care. It is already known that lying flat on the ground negatively affects pulmonary function compared to a sitting baseline.1 It is possible that a vertically oriented litter is better for a subset of patients with respiratory issues than a horizontal litter. The investigators hypothesize that pulmonary function measured by FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC, is better in simulated patients in a vertically oriented litter compared to a horizontally oriented one.

Conditions

Hypothermia Due to Cold Environment; Trauma Patients

Keywords

search and rescue; pulmonary function; Suspension

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Forced Vital Capacity

  Measurable lung volume on expiration

  Immediately

Other Outcomes (1)

• FEV1

  Immediately

Study Arms (4)

Flat

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Secured in a flat litter

Other: LItter position PFTs

Vertical

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Secured in a vertical litter

Other: LItter position PFTs

Pitched forward

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Secured in a litter leaning forward

Other: LItter position PFTs

Baseline

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Sitting baseline pulmonary function

Other: LItter position PFTs

Interventions

LItter position PFTs OTHER

Testing basic pulmonary function in three positions in a rescue litter, compared to sitting baseline

Baseline; Flat; Pitched forward; Vertical

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• pounds

You may not qualify if:

• Significant cardiac or pulmonary diseae

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Francisco: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCSF Fresno

Fresno, California, 93701, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Roger B Mortimer, MD

  UCSF - Fresno

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SEQUENTIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 19, 2025
• First Posted: October 21, 2025
• Study Start: February 15, 2026
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2026
• Study Completion: April 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 8, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: 1/1/26 to 6/1/26
• Access Criteria: Roger Mortimer, MD Sarah Davis, DO Sue Spano, MD Amanda Mortimer, PhD

Locations

US (1)