Diagnostic Accuracy of Focused Assessment With Sonography for Trauma in the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND

Trauma is currently the fourth leading cause of death in developed countries. One of the main objectives in abdominal trauma patients is to develop a rapid and accurate diagnosis. There is a tendency to use emergency abdominal ultrasound with abdominal trauma, therefore, it is recommended in some centers as a diagnostic tool and as a primary choice in abdominal trauma.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of sonography for trauma by emergency medicine residents and radiology residents.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a descriptive and analytical study performed on patients with abdominal blunt trauma who referred to the emergency ward. The diagnostic accuracy of sonography for trauma by emergency medicine residents and radiology residents was evaluated.

RESULTS

Of the 380 patients, 296 were males and 84 were females. The mean ages of male and female patients were 34.52 ± 16.38 years and 41.19 ± 21.38 years, respectively (P = 0.009). The sonographies performed by emergency residents were positive in 46 patients, with 22 of these confirmed by CT scans. The sensitivity and specificity of the sonography by emergency residents, as confirmed by CT scans, were 78.5% and 93.2%, respectively. The sonographies performed by radiology residents were positive in 38 patients, with 24 being confirmed by CT scans.

CONCLUSIONS

The sensitivity and specificity of the sonography by radiology residents, as confirmed by CT scans, were 85.7% and 96%, respectively. Sonographies performed by emergency residents were positive in 46 patients with 34 of these being confirmed by sonographies by radiology residents. The sensitivity and specificity of the sonographies by emergency residents, as confirmed by sonographies by radiology residents, were 89.5% and 96.5%, respectively.