Scaife, E.R., Rollins, M.D., Barnhart, D.C., Downey, E.C., Black, R.E., Meyers, R.L., Stevens, M.H., Gordon, S., Prince, J.S., Battaglia, D., Fenton, S.J., Plumb, J. and Metzger, R.R. (2013) The Role of Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma (FAST) in Pediatric Trauma Evaluation. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 48, 1377-1383. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2013.03.038

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) Scans Are Not Sufficiently Sensitive to Rule out Significant Injury in Pediatric Trauma Patients

  AUTHORS: Clare Skerritt, Saira Haque, Erica Makin

  KEYWORDS: Blunt Trauma, Ultrasound, FAST

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Pediatrics, Vol.4 No.3, September 19, 2014

  ABSTRACT: Aim: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of FAST scans in pediatric trauma in a dedicated pediatric trauma centre. Method: A 3-year (2008-2011) analysis of prospectively collected datalooking at the results of FAST scans compared to Computed Tomography (CT) or laparotomy findings. Results: There were 482 pediatric trauma calls of which 166 patients had suspected intra-abdominal injury. 163 patients underwent CT scans of which 89 (55%) had FAST scans prior to CT. 3 patients had FAST scans without CT; 1 patient went straight to theatre (positive FAST) and 2 patients died in the department before any further imaging. The sensitivity of FAST scans to detect abdominal injury is 23% and the specificity is 97%. The injuries missed on FAST scan were: liver lacerations (n = 3), splenic lacerations (n = 5), 1 combined liver and kidney injury and 1 combined splenic injury and small bowel perforation. Conclusions: FAST scans in trauma have a low sensitivity in pediatric patients with the possibility of missing significant intra-abdominal injury. They do not obviate the need for CT scan when clinical suspicion is high.