DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF FOCUSED ASSESSMENT WITH SONOGRAPHY FOR TRAUMA SCAN FOR DETECTION OF SOLID ORGAN INJURIES TAKING COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCAN AS GOLD STANDARD

Abstract

Background:
Blunt abdominal trauma is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Rapid diagnosis of intra-abdominal injuries is essential for timely management. Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) is widely used as an initial screening tool, while computed tomography (CT) scan remains the gold standard.

Objective:
To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FAST in detecting solid organ injuries in patients with blunt abdominal trauma, taking CT scan as the gold standard.

Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Radiology, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, from 10th March 2025 to 10th June 2025. A total of 242 hemodynamically stable patients with blunt abdominal trauma were included using non-probability consecutive sampling. FAST examination was performed by an experienced radiologist, followed by CT scan. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy were calculated.

Results:
The mean age was 34.72±12.18 years. Solid organ injury was detected in 38 (15.7%) patients on CT scan. FAST showed sensitivity of 78.9%, specificity of 92.7%, PPV of 68.2%, and NPV of 95.7%. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FAST was 86.0%.

Conclusion:
FAST is an effective initial screening tool with high specificity and good diagnostic accuracy. However, due to its limited sensitivity, CT scan remains essential for definitive diagnosis