• Investigating the Diagnostic Accuracy of Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) Compared to CT Scan in Patients with Blunt Abdominal Trauma
  • Mohammad Vaseie,1 Mohammad Sedaghat,2,*
    1. Department of Emergency medicine, Faculty of medicine, Tehran university of medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
    2. Depatment of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: Objective: Focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) is a very valuable part of the initial examination in emergency care. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic power of FAST ultrasound in diagnosing intra-abdominal visceral injuries caused by trauma.
  • Methods: Method: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study on 150 patients who visited the emergency department of Khatam Shahr Zahedan Hospital in the southeast of Iran during 2021 and were admitted to the study with the diagnosis of blunt abdominal trauma. The results of FAST ultrasound were compared with CT results. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of FAST compared to CT as a standard were measured.
  • Results: Findings: The patients included 109 men and 41 women with an average age of 35.7 ± 25.8 years, the youngest was 19 years old and the oldest was 70 years old. The most injuries were due to accidents (40 cases), falls (50 cases) and impact (60 cases). The condition of the patients was such that about 97% of the patients had triage level 2. The sensitivity was 75%, the specificity was 98.6%, the positive predictive value was 60%, and the negative predictive value was 99.3%.
  • Conclusion: Conclusion: Ultrasound is a reliable tool for examining trauma patients and due to the constant presence of emergency medicine specialists at the patient's bedside in the early moments, it plays a significant role in improving the treatment protocol of trauma patients.
  • Keywords: Keywords: blunt abdominal trauma, FAST ultrasound, CT, sensitivity, specificity.