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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) Exam: Image Acquisition
Published on: September 22, 2023
Experience with focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) in 313 pediatric patients
Michalle Soudack1, Monica Epelman, Roni Maor
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Rambam Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Ha'aliya Hashnia 8, Bat Galim, Haifa 31096, Israel.
Insights
Focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) is effective for screening pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma. This study demonstrates its high accuracy in identifying injuries, supporting its use in this population.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Surgery
- Diagnostic Imaging
Background:
- Focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) is increasingly used for blunt abdominal trauma assessment.
- Its specific utility in pediatric patients requires further establishment.
- This study evaluates FAST's role in pediatric blunt abdominal trauma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the diagnostic utility of FAST in pediatric trauma patients.
- To compare FAST findings with computed tomography (CT) and explorative laparotomy (ELAP) results.
- To determine the effectiveness of FAST as an initial screening tool.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of medical records and sonographic examinations.
- Inclusion of pediatric patients with multiple traumatic injuries over 20 months.
- Comparison of FAST results (positive/negative) with definitive CT or ELAP findings.
Main Results:
- 313 pediatric patients (mean age 7.1 years) were analyzed.
- FAST demonstrated high accuracy: 92.5% sensitivity, 97.2% specificity, and 95.5% overall accuracy.
- Only 3 false-negative and 2 false-positive FAST results were recorded.
Conclusions:
- FAST is an effective screening tool for blunt abdominal trauma in pediatric patients.
- The technique shows high diagnostic performance in this demographic.
- FAST supports clinical decision-making in pediatric trauma management.
Purpose:
The use of focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST), which detects free fluid in the abdomen and pelvis, for the assessment of blunt abdominal trauma is gaining acceptance worldwide and has been described extensively in the general medical literature. The precise application of this technique in pediatric patients, however, has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of FAST in pediatric trauma patients by comparing the results of this technique with those of CT and explorative laparotomy (ELAP).
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and sonographic examinations of pediatric patients who had sustained multiple traumatic injuries for which they were treated at our hospital during a 20-month period. For all patients, FAST had been the initial screening examination for blunt abdominal trauma. We compared the FAST findings, which had been recorded as positive or negative, with the findings on CT or ELAP, which were considered definitive.
Results:
A total of 313 patients (204 boys and 109 girls) with a mean age of 7.1 years were included in the study. The FAST finding had been negative in 274 patients, of whom 201 had had no clinical signs of abdominal injury and had been managed conservatively without complications. CT had been performed in 109 patients and ELAP in 11. FAST had yielded 3 false-negative and 2 false-positive results. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of FAST were 92.5%, 97.2%, and 95.5%, respectively.
Conclusions:
FAST is an effective tool in screening pediatric trauma patients for blunt abdominal trauma.
