Jobin Jose Maprani1 , Binoy Xavier K.P.2 , Nisanth Menon Nedungalaparambil3 , Sandra Paulson4
BACKGROUND Road traffic accidents are the most common cause of thoracic and abdominal trauma. The role of point of care ultrasound especially in developing countries is gaining evidence in management of acutely ill. We wanted to test the reliability of Fast and E-Fast in blunt abdominal and thoracic trauma cases and evaluate their role in the management of RTAs. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted over a 12-month period among patients presenting at Emergency Medicine Department at Government Medical College, Kannur (then known as Academy of Medical Sciences, Pariyaram). After clinical examination and recording details, fast and E-Fast was done in the emergency department by emergency physicians trained in ATLS using a standard curvilinear probe of 2 - 5 MHz using Sonosite M-Turbo portable ultrasound machine (Fujifilm Sonosite) and compared with the gold standard CT. The CT used was 16 slice Spiral CT scan machine by GE Healthcare (Chicago, Illinois, United States). Results on continuous measurements presented on mean + SD (min-max) and results on categorical measurements were presented in numbers (%). Sensitivity and specificity were computed for analysis. RESULTS The overall sensitivity of Fast is 72.8 % and the specificity is 92 %. The overall sensitivity and specificity of E-Fast are 87 % and 92.3 % respectively. The reliability of point of care ultrasound as a screening tool to triage patients with blunt abdominal and thoracic trauma is 100 %. CONCLUSIONS Fast and E-Fast are quite reliable as screening tools in the management of acutely ill blunt trauma abdomen and chest patients.
