Diagnostic accuracy of focused assessment with sonography in trauma for blunt abdominal injury: A prospective...

Blunt abdominal trauma is a major cause of preventable morbidity and mortality and rapid identification of intra-abdominal injury is critical for timely intervention. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) using computed tomography and operative findings as the composite reference standard in 250 adult patients. Intra- abdominal injury was confirmed in 26.0% of patients and FAST demonstrated a sensitivity of 76.9%, specificity of 91.9%, positive predictive value of 76.9%, negative predictive value of 91.9% and overall accuracy of 88.0%. Sensitivity was higher in hemodynamically unstable patients (90.5%) compared to stable patients (71.1%), while specificity remained high in both groups. Thus, FAST is a rapid and highly specific bedside tool that is particularly valuable for triaging unstable patients, although its moderate sensitivity necessitates confirmatory imaging in stable individuals.