Baseline Evaluation of Lymph Nodes in the Lower Quadrant Young People Using Point of Care Ultrasound (BELLY-POCUS)

NCT07704814 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: Awaited
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Abdominal pain is one of the commonest presentations to the paediatric emergency department. Many children are brought to the PED due to concerns about surgical intra-abdominal pathology such as appendicitis. Mesenteric adenitis is commonly attributed as a cause of the patient's pain but is done so without confirmatory imaging findings and as a diagnosis of exclusion. There is a paucity of evidence pertaining to the sonographic findings of mesenteric adenitis. The investigators aim to categorise the normal appearances using POCUS in patients presenting to the paediatric emergency department without any abdominal or infectious complaint, in order to describe the range of normal lymph node numbers and size present on scan. By defining what's normal, the ultimate aim will be to use POCUS to actively identify abnormalities that diagnose mesenteric adenitis.

Conditions

Lymph Nodes

Keywords

point of care ultrasound; POCUS; lymph nodes; right lower quadrant

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number and sizes of lymph nodes present in the right lower quadrant on abdominal POCUS

  To describe the normal range, in terms of the number and size of lymph nodes present in the right lower quadrant on abdominal POCUS in asymptomatic children.

  6 months

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 2 Years - 16 Years
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients who present to the paediatric emergency department with the following conditions: head injury, facial injury, neck injury, upper and lower limb injury. This will take place across 5 hospital sites in the UK, USA and Australia

You may qualify if:

• \- patients aged 2 - 16 years who present to the paediatric emergency department with the following conditions: head injury, facial injury, neck injury, upper and lower limb injury.

You may not qualify if:

• any child who has had symptoms of vomiting (including those with concurrent head injury), diarrhoea, abdominal pain, anorexia, temperature or active evidence of urinary or respiratory tract infection within the last four weeks.
• Any patient who has undergone abdominal surgery in the last 6 months.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust: lead
• Pediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland (PERUKI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Sunderland Royal Hospital

Sunderland, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

David McCreary, MBBS MRCPCH PgC US

CONTACT

+447399538119; david.mccreary2@nhs.net

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 9, 2026
• First Posted: July 15, 2026
• Study Start: April 9, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: July 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Locations

GB (1)