TFAST Accurate Diagnosis of Pleural and Pericardial Effusion, Caudal Vena Cava in Dogs and Cats.

TFAST, a standardized and validated thoracic point-of-care ultrasound examination, includes 5 acoustic windows: bilaterally applied chest tube site and pericardial site views plus diaphragmatico-hepatic view, also part of AFAST/ Vet BLUE. TFAST is used for rapid detection of pneumothorax and pleural and pericardial effusion. By following a set of TFAST rules, image interpretation errors are avoided, including mistaking cardiac chambers for effusion. Moreover, TFAST echocardiography is used as a screening test for chamber size and soft tissue abnormalities, volume status and contractility, and intracardiac abnormalities.